


Place to Call Home

by Yukikyokira



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-01-06 15:39:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 56,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12213819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yukikyokira/pseuds/Yukikyokira
Summary: In Sound there is a place where people who don't fit in are put in cells. Age or gender doesn't matter. And above everything no one cares. Except for one boy.





	1. Chapter 1

Drip. Drip. Drip.

It was almost completely quiet except for that steady beat.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Several people would go insane if that was the only thing they heard for several days.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

But no one stayed here for just a few days. No, being put here meant that no one wanted you, no one cared about you, and that you were going to die here. Many never made it past the first month. Some, made it several years, hoping a loved one would come and save them. Soon, they would give up hope.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Death was the only unchanging thing that everyone got regardless of where they were. And almost everyone that was put in here welcomed death with open arms. None of the guards cared if someone died. Once, it took them so long to remove a corpse, that everyone in the room got sick and eventually died. But death wasn't the worse thing to happen in this place.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

No, in comparison, the men had it easy. There were several nights that screams came from the women block on the other side of the building. Each block only had five cells. Each cell wasn't big and housed four to five people. Once a cell was "full" the next person to come in was given a cell of there own. It wasn't rare to have a cell to yourself for months or even years.

Drip. Drip. Jingle.

Wait! That was a different noise. A blond head popped out from under a grey blanket. His blue eyes stared out of his cell as footsteps echoed in the room. He could barely hear the water anymore. He moved slightly, revealing a grey gown. That was all they were allowed to wear, that and underwear.

Screams filled the air followed by loud crying. A baby? What was a baby doing here?

Soon, a man appeared before Naruto's cell. A baby was wrapped in a blanket in his arms. Because it was naked, Naruto could tell it was a boy. The man unlocked Naruto's cell and stepped in. Naruto stayed still as the man walked up to Naruto and dumped the baby into his lap. Naruto looked up with confused eyes. "Congratulations brat!" the man said. "Seems like your that one's new mommy."

"What about his real mother?" Naruto asked.

"She's in with the other bitches," the man said. "Rules are rules you know. That ones a boy so it belongs with other boys. Either you take care of it, or it dies. Either way, it's not my problem." Without another word, the man left the cell, locking it behind him.

Naruto looked down and gasped. The baby was pale with beautiful black eyes. Naruto knew this baby was going to grow into a handsome young man. He only needed a chance. Naruto smiled down at the child. He was going to help him get that chance. Ripping off a sleeve of his gown, Naruto tied it around the baby as a makeshift diaper. It would get dirty, but Naruto would sacrifice his portion of soap to keep him clean.

The baby let out a little coo as Naruto held him close. He laid back down, pulling the blanket over them to keep them warm.

Drip. Drip. Soft snore.

Naruto smiled. He could get use to this.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a time that once a month everyone was allowed out of their cells and into a big room. They were never allowed outside, so this was the most freedom they got. The men enter via the left while the women entered via the right. A woman with brown hair and eyes saw Naruto who just wanted to stay away from the others. Her eyes widened at the bundle he held. She made her way quickly towards him, letting out a few coughs on the way. She hovered over him for a few second before leaning down and taking the baby into her arms. Naruto did nothing to stop her, knowing this was the baby's mother.

"He seems well," the woman finally said. Naruto nodded. "Do you know why I'm here?" Naruto shook his head. "I was found in bed with my husband's co-worker. But I swear, we didn't do anything!" Naruto just tilted his head to the side. "I... I love my husband. He's the father, but he thinks his co-worker is. The thing is, I couldn't have slept with that man. He's... well he wasn't into women that way." She blushed and put a hand to her mouth. She coughed. "I'm dying." Naruto's eyes widened. "There is a disease that runs in my family. Women get it after they give birth. It usually kills us within the first two months afterwards. My body began to show signs almost instantly. Since we were childhood friends, I thought I'd show him, to let him know that they'd need him, when I'm gone." She coughed several times. Suddenly, she spat out some blood onto her gown. Tears filled her eyes. "He'll come for us. I know he will. But... it will be too late."

"Why?" Naruto finally spoke. "Why are you telling me all this?"

"They won't let me take him," the woman said. "But someone needs to protect him. You're young, but you're they only one I can ask. I know you've been taking care of him since we arrived. I just ask that you continue to do so." Naruto nodded. He had grown attached to the baby over the last few weeks. "Thank you." The two sat in silence for the rest of the day. When the guards came to separate the groups, the woman happily stood. She smiled as she left. Naruto looked back at her, imprinting that last smile in his mind.

A month past before Naruto found out that she had died. Naruto knew when she wasn't in the gathering room that she had passed away. One of her cellmates had confirmed it. Naruto couldn't help but cry for the woman. The cellmate managed to sneak a note to Naruto. It gave the mother's thanks along with a name, Kohaku. Naruto looked down at the baby and smiled, Ko-chan.

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"Hey Brat!" the usual guard called out to Naruto. "Hand over the baby."

"No!" Naruto yelled. He stepped back as the guard opened his cell and walked inside.

"Sorry, but you have to give him to me," the guard said. "Boss's orders."

"I won't let you kill him!" Naruto yelled. He held Kohaku tighter.

The guard sighed. "Look, some guy came who wants the baby. Since the man offered the boss some money, it means that the baby is no longer part of this place. He doesn't belong here." He reached for the baby. Naruto bit the man's hand causing the man to cry out.

"What the hell is going on?" a man said. Naruto and the guard turned to the "Boss" as people called him. He was a man with brown hair and green eyes. Another man stood behind him, slightly taller. It was too dark for Naruto to make him out.

"He refuses to hand over the baby," the guard said.

The Boss glared at Naruto. "He isn't yours. Give him here."

"No!" Naruto said. "I won't let you have him."

The man behind stepped around the boss and neared Naruto. Naruto's breath caught as dark eyes stared at him. The man then turned to the Boss. "I'll take them both."

"That's..." the Boss was about to argue, but the man glared at him. "Alright." He turned to Naruto. "You can go with him." Naruto hesitated. Something told him to go with the man for Kohaku's sake. But something else told him that their would be consequences if he did. One last look from the man made up Naruto's mind. He stepped up to the man and nodded his head. The man tossed the Boss a bag of money then lead Naruto up and out of the place. Naruto had to close his eyes to block out the light. A hand on his back lead him to a car. The man remained silent all the way to a house. It wasn't really a house, but a mansion. Naruto followed the man inside.

Several women appeared before them. They wore matching maid uniforms. "What can we do for you, Uchiha-sama?"

"Wash them," the man said. The girls nodded. One girl walked up to Naruto and tried to take Kohaku away.

"No!" Naruto said. "Where he goes, I go." The girl looked at the man. He nodded and walked away. The girls lead Naruto into a large room with a huge tub. An older woman managed to convince Naruto to hand Kohaku over, agreeing to keep the baby in his sight at all times. Then Naruto was stripped by giggling girls. He blushed as they began to wash his body. He tried to hide himself, not use to others seeing him naked.

"Come on girls," the eldest woman said. "Let the boy cover his dignity." The girls finally let up, allowing him to wash his more private parts. Once both boy and baby were clean, a problem arose. The baby was already clothed, but Naruto was still standing in only a towel.

"What should we do?" a girl with dirty-blood hair asked. "Uchiha-sama's clothes will be too big for him, even his old ones."

"I believe Itachi's old clothes will fit him," the eldest woman said. The others gasped at the name. "I'll go get a set." She left the room quickly. The other girls began to whisper amongst themselves about how the "Master" might not like seeing Naruto in Itachi's clothes. The eldest woman came back a few minutes later. "They may still be big, but it will do for now." The woman helped Naruto put on a pair of black pants and a light blue t-shirt. She had to pull the strings to keep the pants on him. The shirt was baggy in some areas, but it wasn't too bad. She stepped back. "Blue looks good on you. I have to say the you look adorable." Naruto blushed. "Now, I believe the Master is waiting for you and..."

"Kohaku," Naruto said. "His name is Kohaku."

"Yes, Little Master Kohaku," the eldest woman said. She handed Kohaku back to Naruto. He had a proper diaper on him and a dark blue onesie with a strange fan on the back. Naruto had to admit that Kohaku looked even more cute in it. "Alright, let's go." Naruto nodded following her. The other girls stayed behind.

Naruto was lead to what appeared to be a library. Several shelves held hundreds of books. In the middle of the room was a chair with the man sitting and reading a book. He looked up, black eyes finding blue. Naruto looked away, not being able to look at the man who was eyeing him up and down. The man stood up, put the book down and walked over to them. "Can I see him?" Naruto looked up. Confusion was clearly written on his face. The man hid a smile. "Please let me hold my son." Naruto's eyes widened, going back and forth between father and son. Finally, he lifted Kohaku up, letting his father take him into his arms.

The man gasped as eyes so similar to his own stared back at him. "He's beautiful." The man smiled. "He's my son, definitely mine."

"Kohaku," Naruto said. "His name is Kohaku."

"Kohaku," the man said as if trying out the name. "Kohaku Uchiha, a fine name indeed."


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto shut the door behind him. He smiled. He had just finished putting Kohaku to bed. Kohaku was now six months old, making it three months since they had come to the Uchiha Manor. After some training, Naruto was given the position of Kohaku's caregiver.

Naruto stepped into his room, leaving it open a crack. If Kohaku started crying, he'd be able to hear him. In all honesty, he'd rather sleep with Kohaku by his side, but Mr. Uchiha kept bringing him back into this room. He hadn't really talked to Mr. Uchiha except the few times they ran into each other when Mr. Uchiha visited Kohaku. Naruto noticed that Mr. Uchiha tried to spend time with Kohaku while Naruto was busy helping out in the kitchen. It wasn't like he hated Naruto, but being ignored by the man hurt Naruto's feelings a bit. Naruto didn't understand why though.

He yawned as he stripped himself of his work clothes. Mr. Uchiha had gotten his a tailored uniform. Naruto had no idea how Mr. Uchiha had found out he liked orange, but he was more than happy with the black and orange uniform. He was also given some red and black nightwear. Naruto blushed when a maid had given him a bag of boxers. She had also given him slippers, shoes, and socks. All in all, Naruto had found himself a place to belong.

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He rolled his eyes. Here the blond was, once again sleeping on the floor near Kohaku's crib. He sighed as he bent down and took the boy into his arms. The man frowned. The boy was still underweight. He carried the boy back into his room, pulling the covers over his small body. The boy was fourteen, that's what the background check revealed. It also said that he had lost his parents the night he was born. He had someone taking care of him until he was four. Ten years, that's how long Naruto had been in that Prison. The man glared at the wall. He hated that place and he was glad he only had to go there once.

Catching his wife with his co-worker had made him extremely angry. He had his wife thrown into that place and his co-worker had paid dearly, with his left arm. The man had sworn that he hadn't slept with Mizori. This was actually true. Sena hadn't slept with Mizori, that time. It seemed that Sena and Mizori had sex just before Mizori had gotten pregnant. When he found this out, Sena was sent to the same place as Mizori. He had commit suicide the next day. He was also sent a letter stating that Mizori had also died. But her son, the baby that was either his or Sena's. He was still alive. However, he wasn't about to go get the baby. For all he knew, it was Sena's. This changed when a letter appeared on his desk. It confirmed that he was indeed the father of Mizori's baby. He knew who had gotten the test down. Glaring at Kakashi, he walked out of his office, slamming the door behind him. Without another thought, he drove to the prison. The warden had been surprised at his appearance. Scared of what the Uchiha would do to him, the warden let him retrieve his son.

When his eyes met Naruto, he was filled with a mix of emotions. Part of him was angry that he would give him his son, but another part had to admit that he was glad someone cared about him. It was easy to come to the decision he made. Taking them both home with him was simple. No one wanted Naruto, that was why he was there. But now, he was needed. Naruto would be his son's caregiver in an exchange for a place to stay, food to eat, and clothing to wear. Though, Naruto never even asked for it.

At first, Naruto seemed to be afraid, but all of workers at the Uchiha mansion made him feel welcomed. They liked him and enjoyed working with him, especially the cooks. He helped wash some dishes and even tested the food. The man had seen the boy and the cook laughing. It put a small smile on his face. If anyone had seen his smile, they would have been very surprised. The man hasn't smiled in a long time.

The only thing he didn't like was when Naruto was wearing Itachi's clothes. Luckily, his son had distracted him enough from Naruto that he didn't blow a gasket. He did however make sure that Naruto got different clothes. Itachi's clothes were washed and returned to his room, once more locked.

On the first night, Naruto was found sleeping by Kohaku's crib. He carried him into a guest room across from Kohaku's. Every night after that, the same thing happened. Finally, he had to tell Naruto to sleep in his own room. The look of surprise on Naruto's face at the mention of the room nearly made him laugh. From then on, he only caught Naruto sleeping near Kohaku's Crib eight times, making tonight the ninth time. There as also one times that Naruto fell asleep on his own bed with Kohaku safely in his arms. Kohaku whimpered when he was taken from the blonde's hold but then he snuggled into his father's embrace. He had to admit that Kohaku was the cutest thing he had ever seen, Naruto being a close second.

He shook his head at that thought. Never before had he been attracted to a man. It scared him not only because Naruto was a boy, but he was a fourteen-year-old boy! Kakashi had told him that it wasn't odd since Naruto was basically a replacement for Mizori. To him, this made sense. He had loved Mizori, to a point. And now that the one who watched over his son for the last six months was here, he felt love towards Naruto. Of course he would never say that out loud though.

He sighed as he left the room, closing the door softly behind him. Heading down the hallway, he stopped before a door and took out a key. Unlocking the door, he stepped inside, locking it behind him. It had been a long time since he had been able to step into this room, four years, eleven months, three weeks, six days, and eighteen-hours in fact. Five years, that was how long Itachi had been gone. Losing his parents had been nothing in comparison to losing Itachi. Itachi had kept him sane and level headed. Mizori had done that same, until just under a year ago. And Sena just made it worse.

He walked over to Itachi's closet, bent down, and pulled out a red box. He hesitated before he put it back down. He had tried several times over the past five years to open it. It was the last thing Itachi had bought. Once more, he left the room, locking it behind him. He wasn't ready yet, but hopefully he would be soon.

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Naruto woke up in his bed and smiled. Mr. Uchiha had carried him in here again. Getting up, he checked on Kohaku. After changing his diaper, he headed down to the kitchen. There, he found some food for himself and for Kohaku.

"Hey Naruto!" the chef said. The chef was a kind man who was just a few months older than Mr. Uchiha. He was... husky. The first time they met, Naruto had heard someone call him fat. He had exploded, yelling at whomever it was that he was husky. Naruto walked into the room, cleared his throat, and asked if he could get something to eat. The man had calmed down instantly with a large smile on his face, and gave Naruto some food. After some questions, some of which Naruto didn't answer, they became friends. The chef had asked Naruto to simply call him Choji.

Choji then introduced Naruto to his wife Ino. Ino had a mouth. She loved to hear the sound of her own voice and would talk about the most random things. One time, Naruto had to sit through her explaining the meaning of her favorite flowers. Luckily, Choji's best friend had walked in the room. Shikamaru was lazy, to say the least. He found everything troublesome. Quieting Ino had been an easy task. Shikamaru simply walked into the room saying his favorite word. She opened her mouth, then shook her head and fell silent. She knew saying anything to Shikamaru would be pointless.

"Good morning Choji," Naruto said. He smiled before taking a seat at the taste-testing table. He held Kohaku on his leg as he began to feed him.

"Ah, Uchiha-sama," Ino said. "Good morning!"

"'Morning," the man grumbled. He took a seat across from Naruto, accepting a cup of coffee, black no cream or sugar. Everyone could tell that the man was tired.

"Rough night?" Ino asked. The man only nodded.

Shikamaru walked into the room a minute later, taking the seat between Naruto and Ino. "Sai is coming today, right?"

"Today?" Ino asked. "Dammit! I haven't hid my stuff yet!" She stood up and ran off.

"Sai?" Naruto asked.

"Sai Uchiha," Shikamaru said. "He's... troublesome."

"Uchiha?" Naruto looked at Mr. Uchiha. "Is he your brother?" The sound of ceramic breaking filled the room. Eyes widened as the cup in Mr. Uchiha's hand had shattered, causing blood to leak from the cuts made from the broken pieces. He was glaring. Naruto shivered. Suddenly, the man stood up and left the room. Naruto looked down.

"It's not your fault," Shikamaru said. "Sai isn't his brother. He's his cousin."

"Then why did he..?" Naruto began.

"Itachi Uchiha," Shikamaru said. "He was Uchiha-sama's brother. He died five years ago."

"Oh," Naruto said. He wanted to ask some questions but the atmosphere told him not to. Instead, he just finished feeding Kohaku. He got up and grabbed an apple. "See you guys later." He brought Kohaku back to his room, burped him, then laid the boy down on his bed. Naruto began to eat the apple as he read a book. Now and again, he'd steel glances at Kohaku who had fallen asleep. Naruto smiled then it vanished. His mind went to Sai, Itachi, and Mr. Uchiha. He wanted to know more about the person that had given him a home.

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He slammed his door shut as he sat down on his bed. He knew Sai was coming, but it was only because Sai was having a gallery opening nearby. Naruto wasn't at fault. He didn't know anything about Itachi or the Uchiha family. sighed. He couldn't keep getting angry at people for talking about Itachi or the rest of his family. Getting up, he made his way down the hall to Kohaku's room. When he opened the door, he noticed that Kohaku wasn't there. Thinking about it, he walked across the hall and knocked on the door.

Naruto opened the door, eyes widening in surprise. "M-mister Uchiha."

"I'm here to see my son," he said.

"R-right," Naruto said. "Come on in." He moved to the side to let Mr. Uchiha in. The man instantly walked over to the bed and sat down. He took his sleeping son into his arms, smiling. Naruto watched the scene and decided to leave the two of them alone. He walked towards the door.

"Naruto," Mr. Uchiha said, stopping the blond from leaving the room. "Thank you."

"N-no problem, Mr. Uchiha," Naruto said.

"Call me Sasuke," the man said.


	4. Chapter 4

"Sasuke!" a voice yelled. "I'm home!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he walked down the stairs. "Sai."

"I've brought gifts!" Sai smiled. In his hands were several bags. He also had some on the floor.

Sasuke sighed. "I don't need anything."

"Who said they're for you?" Sai said. "I've heard about Kohaku." Sasuke flinched. "I got him some stuff, you know, for the future." He put down the bags. "Now, where is my dear second cousin?" He began to walk pass Sasuke, but the man grabbed his arm.

"He's sleeping," Sasuke said.

"Oh?" Sai said. "Then even more reason to see him!" He smiled as he got Sasuke to release him before he ran up the stairs. Sasuke cursed before going after him. Sai reached the door first and slammed it open. How he had known where Kohaku was, Sasuke would never know. "Oh my!"

Sasuke stopped just behind him and looked over his shoulder. Naruto was on the bed with Kohaku in his arms. But that was the only normal thing about it. The blond was only in a towel. Sasuke groaned. Sai was sure to jump to a ridiculous conclusion.

"Didn't know you had such a young lover," Sai said. "Must admit that he is cute though."

"He's fourteen," Sasuke said. "And he isn't my lover. He's Kohaku's caregiver."

"Still, he'd adorable," Sai said. Sasuke rolled his eyes before walking over to the blond and gently shaking him awake. "You should get dressed."

Naruto blinked as he woke up. Barely hearing Sasuke's words, he looked down and blushed. He jumped up and grabbed a blanket covering himself more. "S-sorry. I m-must have fallen asleep."

"Hn," Sasuke nodded. He reaches down and picked up his son. "Get dressed and meet us in the dinning room. Lunch should be ready by now." He left, making sure to grab Sai so the blond had his privacy.

Once the door closed behind the three ravens, Naruto jumped up and got dressed. He sneezed as he put on an orange shirt. "Hopefully I didn't catch a cold."

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Sasuke sat at the table with his son in his arms trying to ignore Sai. He kept going on and on about Naruto and how Sasuke needed to find a new love. "Sai!" Sai looked at him. "Shut up!" Sai fell silent.

Naruto took his seat next to Sasuke and remained quiet. He couldn't look Sasuke in the eye. He glanced at Sai before looking down at his hands, suddenly finding them interesting.

"Hi Sai," Choji said as he put a plate in front of Naruto. "It's been awhile."

"Yes," Sai said. "I've been busy. One of my clients couldn't make up her mind on what kind of flowers she wanted. To make it worse, her husband didn't like the color of the floor." He shook his head. "I'm good but I'm not a magician."

"He's a wedding planner," Sasuke said, answering Naruto's confused look.

"A great one!" Sai said. "I did plan your wedding after all, not to mention Itachi's." Sasuke glared at Sai. "He's been dead for five years Sasuke."

"You would know that best," Sasuke said standing up. He headed out of the room without another word.

"He still blames me," Sai said.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"It's a long story," Sai said. "I'll give you the summarized version." He shifted forward. "Itachi was twenty-eight when he died. That was five years ago. Two months before his death, he came to me asking to plan his wedding. At the time, Sasuke was already married, for only a week mind you. Itachi wanted to get married as fast as possible. He didn't tell Sasuke or I why but I could guess. His marriage would save the Uchiha name. So I took the job." He sat back. "Itachi's wedding was held a week and a half later. He got married to Kurama Namikaze. She was the daughter of the Namikaze Empire. The marriage united the two families, a contract forming between them to better both companies. It worked, but things didn't go as planned. Itachi and Kurama were walking out of a restaurant when a car swerved and hit them. Itachi died instantly, for he took the brunt of the hit. Kurama went into a coma. She's been in the coma since then."

"I don't understand," Naruto said. "Why does Sasuke blame you?"

Sai smiled sadly. "I drove the car."

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Sasuke laid Kohaku down before he sat in a chair. His mind was going a hundred miles an hour. He knew his anger was getting the better of him. Itachi would want him to move on, but he was having a hard time doing that. Mizori had tried to get Sasuke to do that. When they first found out that Mizori was pregnant, it brightened Sasuke's life. When Kohaku was born, Sasuke was ready to create a great life for him, but catching Mizori with Sena had ruined that. The thought of not being Kohaku's father had damaged a part of Sasuke that had started getting over Itachi's death. The reason he had sent Kohaku with Mizori to the prison was because he didn't want to look at him. But he had to admit that there was a chance that he was Kohaku's father. It had been the discovery that Kurama had been pregnant with Itachi's child that made Sasuke get his son.

At the first mention of Kohaku's name, he found it perfect. Originally, Sasuke thought about naming his son after Itachi. In fact, while Mizori was pregnant, they came up with the name Itami for a girl and Itaku for a boy. In Sena's journal, there was a name he had chosen, Makoto. Seeing that name made Sasuke lose his sympathy towards Sena and Mizori. Sasuke wasn't sure if it was because it wasn't Makoto, but Kohaku that was his son's name or the fact that Naruto was the one that gave him the name. And that scared him.

Sasuke leaned back in the chair. He closed his eyes as thoughts of Itachi filled his mind. Once again, they mixed with thoughts of his son and Naruto. He sighed. It seemed he hadn't even started to move on. Another picture of Naruto holding Kohaku flashed through his mind as a smile appeared on his face. But maybe he could start now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since almost this entire chapter is gonna be a flashback, I'm going to change it up a bit. The non-flashback parts will be italicized and the flashback parts won't be.

_"I drove the car."_

Sasuke and Mizori came back from their honeymoon happy. They had had a lot of fun. Sasuke was surprised that it was so much fun. He had thought that a honeymoon was a waste of time, but he had to admit that he had been wrong. The week he had spent with Mizori had been the best week of his life.

"Welcome home Sasuke," Itachi said.

Sasuke smiled. "I'm home."

"Hi Itachi," Mizori said.

"Hn," Itachi said. "We need to talk, Sasuke." Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but nodded. He handed his things to the butlers. Mizori knew that whatever Itachi needed to talk to Sasuke about, it was a conversation she wasn't apart of. She let the maids help her to her room.

Itachi led Sasuke to his office, taking a seat behind his desk. Sasuke took the seat across from him. "What is this about?"

"I'm getting married," Itachi said.

"Eh?" Sasuke asked. "I didn't know you were dating someone."

"I wasn't," Itachi said. "I'm marrying Kurama Namikaze."

Sasuke recognized the name. The Namikaze Empire was a company known for fashion. It had various clothing lines as well as a popular brand of shoes. They even made purses. Mikoto Uchiha had been a big fan of their perfumes and makeup sets. Sasuke knew what Itachi was doing. A marriage between Itachi and Kurama would basically be a merger of the Namikaze Empire and the Uchiha Corp. But that wasn't the real reason he was doing this. He wanted to secure a future for Sasuke. Sasuke clenched his fists. "You're doing this for me."

Itachi smiled. "It is for the future."

"But you don't love her!" Sasuke raised his voice.

"I will learn to love her," Itachi said. "I will protect her and one day, Kurama will be more than just my wife."

"Is this really what you want?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes," Itachi said.

Sasuke sighed. "Alright."

"Good," Itachi stood up. "Cause the wedding is at the end of next week." Sasuke's eyes widened. "Sai organized it. Everything has been signed. There is only one more important matter that needs to be discussed." He walked over to his brother. Sasuke looked confused. "Will you be my best man?"

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The wedding went on without a hitch. Sasuke had to admit that Kurama Namikaze was a beauty. As per agreement, Itachi took her last name. Now, they were going off to there honeymoon. Seeing the smile on Itachi's face, Sasuke knew that Itachi was right. Itachi would love Kurama. His eyes looked to his new sister-in-law. And she would love Itachi.

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Itachi and Kurama met at their favorite restaurant. It seemed Kurama had something to tell him. He had an idea and was able to hide his excitement. The hints were easy to catch on. Kurama had been throwing up for over a week. At first, they thought it was a bug she caught on their honeymoon. But then wouldn't Itachi be sick too? Besides, that was over four months ago. Itachi told Kurama that she should go see a doctor. Kurama agreed since she wanted this to stop.

"What did the doctor say?" Itachi asked.

"I'm not sick," Kurama said. "I'm pregnant."

Itachi smiled. "Really?"

Kurama frowned. "You knew."

Itachi sighed and nodded. "I could tell by the signs." He looked into her eyes. "Are you happy?"

Kurama smiled. "I am." She took a sip of her lemonade. "They asked me if I wanted to know the gender. We have an appointment tomorrow. I already called your secretary to organize your schedule for it. I hope that was alright."

"Of course!" Itachi said. "I can't wait."

"Which do you prefer?" Kurama asked. "Do you want a boy or a girl?"

"Either is fine with me," Itachi said. He stood up, put some money on the table, and held out his hand. "So, shall we go tell your parents?"

Kurama laughed as she took his hand. "Sure!" They wanted hand-in-hand out of the restaurant.

"I hope you had a good time, Itachi-sama, Kurama-sama," the valet said. "If you just give me a minute, I'll go get your car." He bowed before running off.

"How was your day at work?" Kurama asked.

"It was..." Itachi began. His voice left him as he saw it. His first instinct was to get Kurama out of the way. He swung her around, pushing her soft enough to not hurt her but hard enough to get her over five feet away. If he had been superhuman, he'd have been able to get out of the way, but his humanity was against him. The car slammed into him. His body went flying right into Kurama. Her head hit the ground. But Itachi didn't see it. For all he knew, Kurama was safe. But she wasn't.

The police and an ambulance rushed to the seen. Kurama was sent off to Konoha Hospital. Itachi, however was pronounced dead. Police has the one who drove the car in custody. Sai was in tears as the coroner put Itachi's body into his van.

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Sai stood outside of Kurama's room. Her parents sat near her sleeping form. Kurama was in a coma. Because Kurama was still alive, Sai was only facing two counts of involuntary manslaughter. His defense was strong though. Someone had tampered with his car setting it to malfunction at that time. It seemed someone wanted Sai dead, but who? He didn't know and right now he didn't care. All he wanted was Kurama to wake up. But that wouldn't change things. Itachi was still dead. Their child was still dead.

Sasuke came to a stop before Sai. He glanced at the older boy before looking at the door to Kurama's room. He looked back at Sai who didn't say a word. Sasuke opened the door and walked inside. Kurama's parents looked up at Sasuke. Kaguya stood up and pulled Sasuke into a hug, letting him cry. Tenji watched in silence as his wife hugged their son-in-law's brother. Sasuke was now their only living relative, at least until Kurama woke up.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said as Kaguya pulled back.

"Oh sweetie," Kaguya said. "It's not you fault. It's no one's fault."

"It that brat's fault," Tenji said motioning to Sai who had peered into the room. Sasuke turned around and glared at Sai, who disappeared. Kaguya released Sasuke as a doctor walked into the room.

The doctor looked at Sasuke before speaking. "The patient is in a coma. There is some brain activity, but it isn't much. For now, we will keep her on the ventilator and we will be constantly monitoring her fluids and medicine. Except for a couple of bruises, she is otherwise fine. However, there is something you must know." Again he glanced at Sasuke.

"You can say whatever you need to in front of him," Kaguya said. "He's family."

"Then I'm sorry to inform you but no matter what we did, we were unable to save the baby," the doctor said.

Three pairs of eyes widened. "Baby?" Kaguya asked.

The doctor gave them a sympathetic look. "She was four and a half months pregnant."

"No," Kaguya said, covering her mouth. Tears rolled down her eyes. Sasuke's mind swirled. Not only was Itachi dead and Kurama was in a coma, but their child was dead too? Anger spread through his body. He walked out of the room, shrugging off Kaguya's hand.

Sai looked up at Sasuke as the boy stepped out of the room. "Sas..." Sasuke's fist slammed into his face. Sai's back collided with the wall behind him.

"You killed them!" Sasuke yelled. He threw another punch, this one at Sai's stomach. "Murderer!" He punched Sai over and over again. When Sai fell to the ground and didn't give up, Sasuke began to kick him. Five minutes later, four security officers pulled Sasuke away from Sai. He was still screaming. Doctors had to rush Sai into the OR to make sure he was ok. It turned out that Sasuke had broken two of Sai's ribs along with his right arm.

A police officer stepped into the room. "You got beaten up pretty good." Sai glared. "Do you want to press charges?"

"No," Sai said. "I deserved it."

The police officer nodded. "And about the other thing. There is proof that your car was tampered with. However, we have no idea who did it. We do know it wasn't you since your prints don't match the ones we found." He leaned against a wall. "This means you won't be charged with involuntary manslaughter. Even if you were, there's reasonable doubt that it was your fault."

"Itachi and his unborn child are still dead," Sai said.

"We'll keep looking," the officer said. "But I'd suggest getting a bodyguard. Don't want another attempt on your life." Sai nodded. "And you're allowed to leave whenever you want." Sai knew the officer was talking about leaving Konoha. The man obviously knew about Sai's job. Sai wouldn't be leaving the hospital anytime soon though. He had to heal enough to look presentable before he could return to his job. Who wanted their wedding planner to be covered in bruises? "You shouldn't blame yourself," the officer broke through Sai's train of thought. "Someone else caused you car to hit them. It wasn't because of your poor driving skills." Again Sai glared. "Well, I'm off." The officer pushed off the wall and opened the door of his room. "Don't fight now." He walked passed Sasuke, putting a hand on his shoulder, before disappearing down the hallway.

Sasuke glanced at the retreating form of the police officer before stepping into Sai's room. He stared at his cousin before taking a seat besides him. The tension in the air could've been cut with a knife. Sai was too afraid to break the silence. Lucky for him, he didn't have to. "Sorry."

"Eh?" Sai asked surprised.

"I shouldn't have attacked you," Sasuke said. "It was unbecoming of an Uchiha."

"It's alright," Sai said. "I understand why you did it. And I did deserve it."

"Why did this happen?" Sasuke asked.

Sai sighed. "It seems that someone doesn't like me very much." He shifted, careful not to hurt his already pained chest. "My breaks were cut." He paused as he looked at Sasuke. "The power of steering pump also broke. I couldn't swerve left nor could I have stopped the car. But it is still my fault. I should have noticed that something was wrong with the car when turning left was a lot harder than normal." Sasuke remained silent. "I'm not going to ask for your forgiveness. I took Itachi away from you and ruined the Namikaze family. I will however try to make it better. I'll try to help the police in anyway possible." Sasuke just nodded before standing up and heading for the door.

He stopped at the door. "It was a boy." That was all he said before he quietly made his way out of the hospital and home. He ignored Mizori and headed straight to bed, crying himself to sleep. Sai stared at the door. He clenched his fists. He was going to kill whoever did this to his family.

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_Five years. Five years and the police haven't found who cut Sai's breaks. Five years and Kurama was still in a coma. Five years and Sai still felt it was his fault that it happened. Five years since Itachi died taking the last human part of Sasuke with him. A lot can happen in five years._

_Naruto stared at the seat Sai had been sitting in just ten minutes ago. He was trying to process everything Sai told him. From what he gathered, Sai believed that Sasuke hated him for the car "accident," But something was off. Naruto's mind went back to how Sasuke was when Sai returned. He smiled. Sasuke didn't hate Sai nor did he blame him for what happened. He just didn't know how to deal with. Naruto stood up. It looked like he finally had a true purpose. He was going to save the Uchiha family._


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just like the last chapter, the non-flashback parts will be italicized and the flashback parts won't be.

Kurama Namikaze. She was a beautiful woman that had several fan-boys. She was also very smart. At the age of thirteen, she graduated from Konoha High School at the top of her class. She went on to college where she managed to graduate with a four-year Masters degree in only two years. Again, she did so at the top of the class. At the age of seventeen, she was already working at the Namikaze Empire. As requested, she started at the very bottom and worked her way up. Soon, she was the chief of the design department. Her ideas were famous for being wild and out there. However, they went over well with the people. Overall, she was the one every women looked up to. Yet there was one thing she lacked, a love life.

She had dated several men over the years, but none suited her. Now at the age of twenty-six, she was single. Oddly enough, she was ok with this fact. She wasn't ready for a married life. For now, she'd focus on her work. This decision was thrown out the window when her parents asked her to come by to talk. Kurama had been living alone for the last two years now, but this wouldn't be her first time coming home. She had to go to every party her parents had and always came by on holidays and birthdays to celebrate with them.

"Hi mom," Kurama said, walking into the Namikaze Mansion.

"Kurama dear!" Kaguya said. "I'm glad you could come."

"I would never miss a lunch with my own mother," Kurama said.

"I'm here too you know," Tenji said. He stood a few feet behind Kaguya.

Kurama smiled. "Hi dad." She hugged him. "So, what's up? Why the mysterious phone call?"

Tenji dropped the grin. "We have something we need to discuss with you." He led Kurama to the living room. Kaguya followed a minute later with some tea. "So, you're twenty-three now." Kurama nodded, wondering where this was going. "It is time for you to settle down."

Kurama's eyes widened. "You want me to get married?"

Tenji looked at Kaguya before nodding. "Yes." He handed Kurama a file. "This is a list of all the men that we believe suit you."

"Why now?" Kurama asked.

"I'm sure you've heard of the new company that rose up in Cloud?" Tenji asked. Again, Kurama nodded. "They are beginning to expand into Sound. If things keep continuing as they are we may lose our current footing. The Uchiha Corp is already going under."

"So my marriage will save the Namikaze Empire," Kurama said. "Alright." She began to read the file.

Tenji and Kaguya left Kurama alone. "Is this really necessary?" Kaguya asked.

"I wish it wasn't," Tenji said.

"I feel like we are selling our daughter," Kaguya said.

"I don't care about money," Tenji said. "If our company is to go under, thousands of people will lose their jobs. If this wasn't going to happen, I wouldn't ask this of her."

"I know," Kaguya said. "It's just that..."

"It's fine," Kurama said. Her parents turned towards her. "I'll get married. But I'd like to do it my way." She tossed the file onto the kitchen countertop. "None of them are good enough."

"Then..." Tenji began only to be interrupted by Kurama.

"Why isn't one of the Uchiha brothers listed?" Kurama asked.

"The youngest, Sasuke Uchiha already has a fiancé," Tenji said. "He is marrying Mizori Sentari. The Sentari Company will dissolve into the Uchiha Corp upon their union. From what I've heard, no matter what happens, even if the marriage falls threw, the Uchihas will still have complete control over the Sentari Company."

"And the eldest?" Kurama probed.

Tenji sighed. Out of every businessmen out there, Itachi Uchiha was the last person Tenji wanted Kurama to marry. The man was known for being cold and ruthless. He had taken over the position of CEO at the age of sixteen, the youngest ever heard of. It was rumored that Itachi could have taken over sooner, but Kakashi Hatake was given the temporary position upon the deaths of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha. Itachi himself had said it was too soon to hold that power. Knowing that Kurama would eventually get the information out of him, Tenji gave in. "He's currently single."

"Then he's the man I'll marry," Kurama said. Tenji's eyes widened. "Don't give me that look. I know enough about him to know that he'd make a good husband and that Uchiha Corp will save us. Our union will make both the Namikaze Empire and Uchiha Corp the strongest businesses in the world."

"That will make Itachi Uchiha the most powerful man in the world," Tenji said.

Kurama grinned. "And me the most powerful woman."

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Their meeting was set in advance during lunch at Kurama's favorite café. Problem was that Kurama was running late. The copy machine on her floor had broken down causing her to go up a floor to make her copies. This caused her to lose five minutes of her time. Those five minutes made her get stuck in traffic. Now, she was nearly twenty minutes late. She rushed into the café and looked around. Her eyes fell onto a man with long black hair tied in a ponytail. He wore a black suit with a white undershirt and a red tie. The air around him gave off his superiority Kurama knew instantly that this man was Itachi Uchiha.

"Sorry I'm late," Kurama said walking up to him. "I'm Kurama Namikaze." She held out her hand.

Itachi nodded before standing up and shaking Kurama's hand. "Itachi Uchiha." He motioned to the seat across from himself before sitting down. Kurama took the seat. "And don't worry about being late. My guess is that something happened at work. I understand since we are also busy right now."

"I see," Kurama said. "I hope I'm not taking up too much of your time."

"Not at all," Itachi said. He took a sip of his tea. "I hope you like rosemary tea."

"I do," Kurama said. She too took a sip of her tea.

"So," Itachi put his cup down. "What can I do for you Miss Namikaze?"

"Please, call me Kurama," Kurama said. "As you know, a new company has risen in Cloud. It already has a hand in Sound."

"Yes," Itachi said. "They seem to want to take control of the business world."

Kurama nodded. "Which brings us to why I wanted to speak with you. I believe that a merger between our two companies would stop them from doing so."

"A merger?" Itachi asked surprised. He could understand if they teamed up to take down the Cloud company. But a merger? That was unexpected.

"Yes. The Namikaze Empire and Uchiha Corp should merge. To do this, I purpose a marriage between the two of us."

"And this marriage, what exactly do you expect to get out of it? Surely you aren't just going to hand over the control of the Namikaze Empire to me."

"Not at all. I would like to purpose that we keep things relatively the same. My family will control the Namikaze Empire and you will still own Uchiha Corp. However, similar aspects of the two companies will be run by both of us. Together, we will be able to solve all problems that may arise."

Itachi smiled. "I agree. That is indeed an appealing offer. If that is all you want then I can accept this marriage plan of yours."

"Isn't there something that you want?"

"No. The marriage will save Uchiha Corp. But I have to ask, why me?"

Kurama smiled. "Because you aren't like the others. You understand your own limitations and those of everyone around you. With your skill, you will only better both companies. Besides," her grin widened. "You're the only one that suits my tastes."

Itachi smiled. "I glad."

"Then it is settled." Kurama took another sip of her tea. "Now we just need a wedding planner."

Itachi also took a sip of his tea. "I know just the one."

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The wedding was small. Only family members and a few friends were invited. Kurama and Itachi decided on a western style wedding. Kurama wore a spectacular wedding dress. Rubies were sewn into the top part of the dress and along the train. The train webbed out in nine pieces. The triplets of one of Kurama's bridesmaids, two girls and a boy, helped carry the train, each taking three pieces. This made it look like Kurama had nine tails. In her red hair was a tiara created out of Taaffeite. There were a mix of clear and red in color. Itachi was dressed more simply. He wore a white tux with a red tie made of Maid of Honor's son was the ring bearer. A distant cousin of Itachi's was the flower girl. The girls wore light pink dress while the boys wore baby blue suits. Sasuke stood next to Itachi wearing a dark blue suit and a red tie. Kakashi and Sai were next to him wearing similar suits and ties. On Kurama's side stood her Maid of Honor, Matatabi and her two brides maids Kokuo and Chomei wore pink dresses that were slightly darker than those of the Trainbearers and Flower Girl. Each had a blue gem necklace around their necks. Tenji wore a suit similar to Sasuke's while Kaguya wore a snow-white dress with a ruby necklace and tanzanite earrings. All together the wedding party wore over fifteen million dollars worth of clothing and jewelry.

The wedding venue was much cheaper since it took place in one of the Uchiha resorts. Everything had been set up in the large ball room. Sasuke's friend Kiba was the DJ. To this day, no one understood how the two could be friends since Kiba was loud and somewhat on the dumb side while Sasuke was quiet and very intelligent. However, their friendship worked. Kiba had to borrow one of Sasuke's suits, but he looked good in the charcoal grey suit. Choji and Kurama's chef Isobu took care of the food, making sure it fit each and every guest. Some didn't like certain foods, so the two avoided cooking things that involved those. Choji gave Sasuke more tomatoes in his salad, knowing the raven liked them.

Overall, it was a grand day. Everyone had fun, even the Uchiha brothers who were known to lack the knowledge of the idea of fun. Mizori made sure to dance with Sasuke anytime she could. Kurama ended up taking up most of the dance floor, forcing Itachi to dance with her. Everyone had to admit that Sai was an excellent wedding planner.

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She began throwing up for a week nearly four and a half months after her honeymoon. The signs were there, but she ignored them. Finally, Itachi convinced her to go see a doctor. She went alone since Itachi had to finish some work concerning their merger. Kurama sat in a room, playing Sudoku on her phone, quickly getting bored of it. Easy games weren't her thing. Lucky for her the doctor came in a few seconds later.

"Mrs. Namikaze," the doctor said. "I have some good news! You're pregnant!"

Kurama's eyes widened. "Pregnant?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes. It looks like you are about four months long."

Kurama blushed. Four months meant that the baby had been conceived during their honeymoon. Their first time had been to solidify the marriage, but since both enjoyed it, the sex continued. It was at the end of the honeymoon that Itachi had stated that he was falling in love with Kurama. She had been stunned silent at the confession. Kurama made up for it just a few days later when she told him that she felt the same way. Were they ready for a baby? Kurama didn't know. She continued listening to the doctor who was explaining how the next few months were going to play out.

"And since you are so far long, we should be able to tell you the gender of the baby," the doctor said. "Would you like to know?"

"I'd like my husband to be here," Kurama said. "Can I make an appointment for tomorrow?"

"Sure," the doctor said. "I actually received a cancelation during your tests. It is for one tomorrow. Will that be ok?"

"Yes," Kurama said. "I'll see you then, doctor." She was in a rush to leave and tell Itachi the news.

"Then I'll go get the paperwork," the doctor said, leaving the room.

Kurama took out her cell and instantly called Itachi. They agreed to met at their favorite restaurant. She then called his assistant to make sure he'd be free for tomorrow. Kurama didn't even have to explain why she needed him to have the time off. Kakashi had taken over the call and told her to enjoy the day. She believed that he had to have known what was going on. Kakashi was a smart man after all.

Kurama got in her car and carefully drove to the restaurant. She knew that her motherly instincts had kicked in since she hadn't driven over the speed limit, not that she could during this busy time. She arrived first and had the valet park her car. Itachi would arrive on foot since Uchiha Corp's main building was only two blocks away. Just as she took her usual seat, Itachi walked in. He sat across from her. They ordered some drinks and a quick meal. After the food was gone, Itachi asked her about the doctor's appointment. When she told him the news, he wasn't surprised. Kurama frowned. Of course he'd know. He wasn't known as the smart man alive for no reason. He seemed really happy with the news that he was going to be a father. This was when Kurama realized that they were indeed ready to have a baby. She also didn't care what the gender of the baby was going to be since she'd love him or her equally.

After paying the bill, Itachi held out his hand. Kurama laughed as she took his hand. They were going to tell her parents the news. Itachi would tell Sasuke sometime later. Kurama would probably tell her friends about her upcoming motherhood. The two walked hand-in-hand out of the restaurant.

"I hope you had a good time, Itachi-sama, Kurama-sama," the valet said. "If you just give me a minute, I'll go get your car." He bowed before running off.

"How was your day at work?" Kurama asked.

"It was..." Itachi began. She hadn't seen it but Itachi had. She felt herself being swung around before being pushed soft enough to not hurt her but hard enough to get her over five feet away. Kurama could only watch in horror as a car slammed into Itachi. His body went flying right into Kurama. Her head hit the ground, causing her to lose consciousness. It was this hit that had forced her into a coma.

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_Naruto sat besides Kurama's bedside. He had asked Sasuke permission for a day off. Sasuke hadn't questioned him, too busy with work. The blond had asked Sai if he could meet Kurama. So, with Kohaku in his arms, he was now in her hospital room. Tenji and Kaguya refused to turn of the machines that were keeping her alive. Naruto was thankfully for this because it let him meet her. Kurama was now thirty-one years old, a year younger than what Itachi would have been if he had been alive. She didn't look good, but then again she had been in a coma for five years now._

_"Are you hungry?" Naruto asked Kohaku. The baby giggled. Naruto took that as a yes and placed Kohaku on the bed. He rummaged through his bag not even noticing the Kohaku was crawling over Kurama's supine body. Naruto finished pulling out a can of applesauce when he's eyes widened. Kohaku wasn't were he put him. Looking around, he saw Kohaku nearing Kurama's face. The boy slapped her face. Naruto pulled the boy off of her and bowed. "I'm so sorry." He smiled sadly before he froze in surprise. Red eyes were staring back at him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, onto some information that may have been unknown until now:
> 
> Kurama: 31 years old  
> Itachi: died at 27 years old  
> Sasuke: 26 years old  
> Naruto: 14 going on 15  
> Kohaku: nearly 7 months old  
> Kakashi: nearly 40 years old  
> Tenji: nearly 59 years old  
> Kaguya: nearly 57 years old  
> Sai: 29 years old  
> Kiba, Choji, Ino, Shikamaru: 26 years old  
> Mizori: died at 25 years old  
> Sena: died at 30 years old


	7. Chapter 7

Darkness. That was the first thing she became aware of. The next thing was the fact that she couldn't move. No matter how much she tried, her body stayed still. Then words began to fall on her ears. She couldn't understand them. It was as if someone was speaking a foreign language. But then everything disappeared as she lost herself in a world of oblivion.

She would return to this start several times over the next few years. To her, time seemed to go by slowly. A year in the outside world was just a few minutes to her. Those few minutes made her wonder what was going on. She would panic every time her eyes opened to this darkness. But soon, she was use to it. Part of her believed that she was just having a nightmare, one she couldn't wake up from. And the foreign words never became clear.

Something awoke her to the darkness sooner than usual. Her mind was able to place the noise. It was the sound of a baby giggling. Baby? Her baby? She wanted to see him or her. She wanted to feel it, hold it in her arms. Someone must have heard her as she felt something crawl up her body. She tried to reach out, but her body still wouldn't move. Then a soft slap on her cheek happened. A smile slipped on her face until she felt the weight being removed. That was the last straw.

Red eyes blinked open. The room was too bright. She closed her eyes as someone apologized then opened them again. Red found blue and the owner of the blue eyes gasped. "Kurama-san." The kid must have realized something as he reached out and hit the call button. Suddenly, two nurses and a doctor where in the room. The kid and the baby got out of their way, disappearing into the hallway. Kurama reached out her hand towards them, wanting to call out to them. But the doctor and nurses blocked her view.

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Naruto instantly went to the nurses' station to have one help him make a few phone calls. He called Sai first. Sai had been ecstatic. He told Naruto that he'd get ahold of Sasuke. Naruto agreed knowing that it would be better for him to tell Sasuke that Kurama was awake. Naruto then made a call to the Uchiha Manor. Tsunade answered the phone.

"Hey Obaa-chan," Naruto said. The two had grown close very quickly. Tsunade was like a grandmother to Naruto.

"What is it Naruto?" Tsunade asked. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Can you come pick up Kohaku? We're at Konoha Hospital."

"The Hospital?" Tsunade was concerned. "What are you doing there?"

"I... um... well..." Naruto took a deep breath. "I wanted to meet Kurama-san."

"I see," Tsunade said. Naruto could hear the sound of a jacket being grabbed. "I'll be there in twenty minutes. I'll meet you at her room."

"Alright," Naruto said nodding. "See you then." He hung up, thanking the nurse. Glancing at Kurama's room, Naruto took a seat near the nurse, waiting. About five minutes later, Sasuke came running down the hall. He was followed by two people that Naruto could guess were Kurama's parents. Security guards were behind them, telling them not to run, but they ignored them. The three didn't seem to see Naruto as they went right into the room.

"Kurama/Honey!" The three yelled.

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Kurama smiled at her parents and Sasuke. She had a cup of water in her hands. A nurse had told her to drink it slowly. "Hey guys." Her voice was very hoarse from lack of use. She took another sip of the cold water, it helping to sooth her throat.

Kaguya collapsed against Tenji who could barely hold her up. The two were glad to see their daughter awake. Tears ran down both of their faces. Sasuke had to sit down so he didn't fall over. The doctor smiled as he explained to them that Kurama would have to remain in the hospital a little bit longer to make sure everything was ok. They didn't want her to slip back into a coma. He and the two nurses excused themselves, leaving the family alone.

Kurama looked at her parents. "So where is Itachi?"

Sadness filled the room and Kurama frowned. It was Sasuke that spoke. "Itachi didn't make it."

"Oh god!" Kurama exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!"

"It isn't your fault," Sasuke said.

"That's right," Kaguya said. "We should put the sadness behind us and celebrate the fact that you've finally awakened after five years!"

"Five years?" Kurama asked. Tenji and Sasuke glared at Kaguya as her hand covered her mouth. "That means..." Kurama moved a hand to her stomach. "The baby. Where is my baby?" The silence said it all. Tears ran down her face. "No, no, no! Please! Tell me my baby is ok!"

"Honey," Tenji began.

"No!" Kurama yelled. "He can't be dead! I heard him!" Kaguya, Tenji, and Sasuke looked at each other confused.

"Sasuke-sama?" a voice called. Everyone turned to see Naruto peeking into the room.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, walking towards the blond. "What are you doing here?"

"Sai brought me here," Naruto said. "I just wanted to meet her."

"You!" Kurama pointed at Naruto. "You have him don't you! You have my baby!"

Naruto looked taken aback. He still hade Kohaku in his arms, but only Sasuke could see him. "It looks like you have some explaining to do." Naruto turned to see Tsunade behind him. "Well, get inside the room already. And keep it down. We don't want to disturb the other patients." She managed to move Naruto forward at the same time as closing the door behind her. "Now then, I believe Master Sasuke has something to say."

All eye turned to Sasuke. He sighed, already regretting the conversation that needed to be had. "The baby Naruto is carrying is mine. Mizori gave birth to Kohaku nearly seven months ago."

"So he's really dead then?" Kurama asked. "My baby?"

Sasuke nodded. "The doctors tried to save him, but they couldn't." Kurama didn't say anything and no one could blame her. She had just found out that not only was her husband dead, but so was her son.

Only Tsunade had seen Naruto move. He had handed Kohaku to her before going right up to Kurama and hugging her. "It's ok to cry." Kurama's eyes widened before the tears began to fall. Her arms went around Naruto as she cried out in pain. No one dared to say a word as they were frozen at the sight of someone half of them just met, the other half only knowing him for a short time, comfort a stranger. They watched as a boy nearly fifteen-years-old seemed to shoulder the pain everyone felt.

Kurama held onto the stranger who felt so warm. It was his warmth that made her realize that everything was going to be ok. She would still need time to grieve for her loss, but she still had family. She pulled back a bit and smiled sadly at the blond. "Thank you."

Naruto nodded, but didn't let her go. "I'm here." He looked straight at her. "I'm here whenever you need me." Kurama couldn't help but pull Naruto back into a hug.

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A week later, Naruto stood next to Sasuke outside of the hospital. He held the raven's hand as they waited for Kurama. The red-head came out with her parents closely behind her. She laughed at something Tenji said and he pushed her out. She was sitting down on wheelchair. Kurama wouldn't be able to walk anytime soon. She had to go through rehab. The doctors also told them that she may not be normal ever again. Tenji and Kaguya had seen some minor differences, but nothing to cause any problems. Her memories of what happened were still there, causing her to have nightmares, but over time, they would lessen. They had also been warned that Kurama might try to hide how she is feeling. The doctor told them that she may want to see a psychologist to help her work out her feelings. Tenji, trying to make a joke, had said that they could just lock her in a room with Naruto since he seemed to get her to spill her guts.

The effect Naruto had over Kurama actually scared Tenji. Kurama usually didn't take so well with strangers. But here was this boy that appeared out of no where that could do things Tenji could do. It also pissed him off that Naruto was able to comfort Kurama when he couldn't. Kaguya on the other hand thanked kami-sama for Naruto. His presence lit a fire under Kurama that brightened her days.

Kurama knew that the way she felt around Naruto was strange. It was like he was there for only her. But she also knew this wasn't true. She had seen the look in Sasuke's eyes as the two of them grew close. Kurama had heard about what happened with Mizori and agreed that Sasuke had done the right thing. Mizori had betrayed Sasuke, and for that, Kurama believed she deserved a punch in the face. But since Mizori was dead, Kurama would have to be satisfied to know that she no longer had her claws in the raven. This however brought up how Naruto came into Sasuke's life. To take care of a child at such a young age that wasn't even his, it amazed her. And Kurama could tell that Naruto loved Kohaku and Kohaku loved him back. Sasuke may be an Uchiha, but Kurama was able to read him. Sasuke may deny it, but him and Itachi are very similar. And since Kurama could read Itachi well, it was easy to tell what Sasuke was thinking. The man was facing a common battle that several people have, the battle of right versus wrong. Kurama didn't care what side Sasuke picked. All she wanted was Sasuke to be happy.

Kurama looked out of the window of the care she was now in. It was going back to her parents' house. Sasuke, Naruto, and Kohaku were in the car behind her. They were going to celebrate Kurama's return home. Her eyes found the sky and she smiled. 'Itachi,' she thought. 'I've decided, I'm going to help him, just as you would have. He deserves to be as happy as we were.'


	8. Chapter 8

Kohaku ran around until he collided with someone's legs. Naruto laughed as he lifted Kohaku up. The boy was now three years old. "Naru!" He leaned forward and kissed Naruto on the cheek before giggling.

"Lets get you some food," Naruto said smiling. They made their way into the dinning room. Sasuke was already there with Kurama and Sai sitting across from him. Sai had just returned to the house a few days before. He was on his week-long vacation. Kurama had moved in with Sasuke four and a half months ago, and she wasn't the only one. Her parents had also moved into the Uchiha Manor. This was after the manor grew in size, nearly tripling. It was apart of combining the two families. Tenji and Kaguya were currently out visiting Tenji's brother.

Naruto sat down next to Sasuke who quickly grabbed his son. Sasuke lifted his son up and kissed his cheek. Naruto couldn't help but smile at the scene before him. Sasuke lowered Kohaku to his lap before grabbing a spoon. Kohaku opened his mouth letting his father feed him. A few times, Naruto would give some of his own food to Kohaku.

"So what are your plans for today?" Kurama asked.

"I'm behind on work since an idiot messed up the data I needed," Sasuke said. "I'll have to spend the day in the office."

"That sucks," Sai said. "And here I thought we could hang out as a family."

"We should take Kohaku to the zoo or something," Kurama said.

"That's fine with me," Sasuke said. He turned to Naruto. "Would you be ok alone with the kids?"

"Sasuke!" Sai and Kurama yelled.

Naruto laughed. Sasuke sometimes called Sai and Kurama his kids since they tended to act like it. "I think I can handle it." Sasuke nodded, handed Kohaku back to Naruto, and stood up.

"Then I'll leave everything to you," Sasuke said. He left the room, leaving his empty plate and glass behind.

Sai, Kurama, and Naruto stood. Each went off to their room to get ready for the day. A maid helped get the car ready. Neither Sai nor Kurama wanted to drive, do they had one of Sasuke's drivers get behind the wheel. The drive to the zoo was short, much to Naruto's delight. Sai and Kurama got along, but putting them in the back seat together, hadn't been a good idea. Naruto made a note to have Kurama sit up front on the way home.

Naruto tried to buy his own ticket but Sai had pushed the blond aside saying it was his treat. Naruto was about to argue but Kurama distracted him by pointing to a spot on the map. Kurama had pointed to a show that was starting in ten minutes. The group quickly made their way to the show. Naruto and Kohaku watched in amazement as a girl around Naruto's age did some tricks with three dolphins. Naruto had pouted at the fact he hadn't gotten wet since he was sitting two rows up from the splash zone. Sai just told him that next time they'd sit closer.

The group moved onto the monkey zone next. "Monkey!" Kohaku yelled when he saw one. Monkeys were Kohaku's favorite animals. Kurama snapped a few pictures, promising to give some to Naruto. They moved from one zone to the next, wanting to see as much as they good. When they got to the reptile house, Naruto refused to go in. Sai offered to take Kohaku in, but not even five minutes later, he was running out of the house with a crying Kohaku. "Scawwy," Kohaku sobbed. Naruto patted his back, comforting the boy as they walked. When they reached the penguins, Kohaku was no longer crying. Naruto put Kohaku down so that he could get closer to the tank. He wash some of the penguins swim. Kohaku then walked back to Naruto, waddling like a penguin. Kurama made sure to take several pictures of it along with a short video.

Time went by quickly and the group found themselves in a souvenir shop. Naruto picked out a monkey nighty for Kohaku along with a plushie. Kohaku begged Naruto to let him wear it, so Naruto changed the boy in the bathroom. Kohaku then ran around pretending to be a monkey. Naruto couldn't help but laugh. Suddenly, Kohaku ran into someone.

"Brat!" the man yelled. "Watch where you are going!"

"We're sorry," Naruto said, picking Kohaku up. Kohaku muttered an apology.

"You should keep a better eye on him," the man said.

"Hey!" a girl said. "They said they were sorry!" She stomped over to them. "There's no need to drag it out. Just forgive them already."

"Yeah!" Another said. A few others nodded in agreement.

"Whatever," the man said, pushing passed Naruto.

"You ok?" the girl asked.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Thanks for that."

"No problem," the girl said. "There is always at least one jerk everywhere we go." She held out a hand. "I'm Sakura by the way."

Naruto shook her hand. "Naruto. And this is Kohaku."

"He's cute," Sakura said. "Your brother?"

"Ah, no," Naruto said. "I'm just his caretaker."

"Naruto!" Kurama called, running up to them with Sai behind her. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Naruto said.

"Oh?" Sakura said. "You must be this little one's parents."

Kurama and Sai looked at each other, blushing slightly before yelling, "No!"

Naruto laughed. "No, his father is at work."

Sakura nodded. She noticed that Naruto didn't say anything about Kohaku's mother. Her guess was that she was dead. She didn't press it. "Well, it was nice meeting you guys. I gotta get back to my friends." She turned to Naruto, taking out her phone. "Can I have your number?"

"Oh, um... I don't have a cell phone," Naruto said.

Sai grabbed Sakura's phone. "But you can always call this number. Just ask for Naruto and you two can talk." He handed the phone back to the girl.

"Thanks," Sakura smiled. "Bye!" She ran off, waving.

"Shall we get going?" Sai asked.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Let's go." The three males started heading towards the exit. Kurama's eyes stayed on Sakura who had met up with her friends. It was clear that Sakura was telling them about Naruto. Kurama frowned. For some reason, she didn't like Sakura. Something about the girl bothered her. "Kurama?" Naruto called.

Kurama turned around and ran to catch up to the others. "Sorry about that."

"So, I was thinking we should get some ice cream," Sai said.

"Ice cream!" Naruto cheered. "Let's go!" He speed up causing Sai to laugh. Kurama though was silent, her mind still on Sakura. The driver opened the doors, and Naruto quickly sat in the back with Sai. Kurama didn't bother to try and convince Naruto to sit in the front. She took her seat and sat in silence as they drove to an ice cream shop. The four of them ordered their favorite ice creams, a small one for Kohaku. The group talked about their day at the zoo, Kurama finally getting involved in the conversation. She decided to put the thoughts about Sakura on the back burner.


	9. Chapter 9

Ring. Ring. Ring.

It was beginning to get annoying. Both Kurama and Sasuke wanted to break the phone just to stop it from ringing again. The phone's life was saved when Naruto picked it up. It was the third call this week that was for him, making this the sixteenth call this month. Knowing who it was, the maids let Naruto answer the call. There was only once when the call had actually been for Kurama, letting her know that her parents were staying longer at Tenji's brother's place. Apparently, they were having the time of their life, reliving the good old days. But no, this call wasn't for her.

"Good morning Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "How are you?" It became a routine to start off their conversation this way.

Kurama tried to block out the voice she could hear coming from the phone. Sakura was always loud. Sasuke just glared at Naruto, though his eyes clearly were on the phone.

"Sure," Naruto said, causing the other two to refocus on Naruto. "See you then." He hung up the phone. "Sakura-chan needs help buying a birthday gift for a friend of hers. Is it alright if I go?"

Kurama wanted Sasuke to say no. Hell, even Sasuke wanted to say no, but instead he nodded his head. A smiled overtook Naruto's face before the blond ran up to his room. Kurama turned her glare onto Sasuke who just put his head down, wishing a hole would open up beneath him and swallow him whole. He knew he was in for a lecture from Kurama.

"When are you going to tell him to decrease the number of calls he gets?" Kurama asked.

"May be I should just get him a cell phone," Sasuke said.

"That's not the problem," Kurama said slamming her hands down on the table. "Sakura is clearly into Naruto!"

"So?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Seriously?" Kurama asked back. "Are you that stupid?" Sasuke just glared. "Fine! I'll talk to him myself!" She stood up, leaving the room quickly. Sasuke stared after her, wondering if he'd even understand her.

Naruto grabbed a jacket and his wallet. Sasuke had been giving him a small allowance and the blond has been saving it up for the last few years. He knew he couldn't stay here forever. He planned to move out of the Uchiha Manor when he had enough money to rent an apartment. Currently, Naruto had enough to last him at least two months, but he wasn't old enough to live on his own. He still had to wait another year before then.

"Hey Naruto?" Kurama knocked on his door, despite it being open. He smiled as she stepped into the room. "Ready for your date?"

"Date?" Naruto looked confused.

"With Sakura," Kurama said.

Naruto blushed. "I-it's not a date." he took a deep breath. "We're just going shopping."

"Sure," Kurama rolled her eyes. "What is it with men not understanding how someone feels? Sakura clearly like you."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, whatever you say, Kurama-san." Naruto walked passed the red-head.

"You'll see," Kurama muttered. "And soon."

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"Thanks for helping me out, Naruto," Sakura said.

"No problem," Naruto said. "I'm sure your friend will love that gift!"

Sakura smiled. "You know, Fu is having a party for her eighteenth birthday. She invited a lot of people, most of which already have dates."

"Oh?" Naruto asked. "Hinata too?"

"Yeah," Sakura said. "She's going with Shino."

"The bug lover?" Naruto asked. "Neji said it was ok?" Naruto had first met Neji when Sasuke introduced him as his new secretary. The man was twenty-five, making him three years younger than Sasuke. Neji and Shino did get along (Naruto believed it was because they were both the silent-type), but when Hinata was involved, Neji became a bit less understanding. Kiba had once hit on Hinata in front of Neji and had been beaten up. If it hadn't been for Kurama, Kiba would probably still be in the hospital.

"It seems that he trust him," Sakura said.

"Cool," Naruto said.

"You know, you've also been invited," Sakura said, taking a sip of her strawberry milk shake.

"Really?" Naruto exclaimed. "Awesome!" He suddenly frowned. "I have to get her a present!"

Sakura laughed. "Why do you think I bough two things?" She handed one of the bags to Naruto.

"Oh," Naruto said. "Let me pay you back for it."

"It's fine," Sakura said grabbing Naruto's hand to stop him from taking out his wallet. "Take it as a thank you for coming with me today."

Naruto was going to argue, but the look Sakura was giving him caused him to keep his mouth closed. Instead, he nodded. "Ok." He took a sip of his coke.

"By the way," Sakura began. "I was wondering... if you'd like to go to Fu's party with me."

"Sure," Naruto said. "Friends stick together right?"

"That's not what I... never mind." Sakura shook her head. "I think we should go shopping for clothes after this."

"What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Oh, nothing. I just think a change is nice." She took the last sip of her drink before putting down some money. "Lets go." She grabbed Naruto's arm, pulling him after her. He waved a goodbye at their waitress, before following after Sakura. They entered a store with a lot of jeans. Sakura brought Naruto over to a section and started tossing him some pairs. The next thing he knew, he was in a dressing room. He sighed before trying on each pair. Sakura shook her head at several pairs before she seemed to find the one she wanted him to wear. She then had him try on some shirts. Naruto complained about how tight some of them were, but Sakura ignored him. Soon, they were walking out of the mall with several bags in their arms. Naruto put everything in Sakura's trunk before taking the seat next to her. Her driver drove back to the Uchiha Manor, dropping Naruto off.

"I'll pick you up at six on Friday!" Sakura said. "Make sure you wear those clothes!" She waved before the care drove off. Naruto stood frozen in place before sighing and entering the Uchiha Manor.

"Back already?" Kurama asked.

Naruto looked at a clock. "I've been gone for five hours."

"Yeah, well... never mind." Kurama said. "Sasuke has something for you." She grabbed the bags from Naruto, handing them to a maid. Then then ushered Naruto into Sasuke's office. It was the first time Naruto had entered this office without Sasuke showing him in. Sasuke sat at his desk, a pencil in his hand. He looked up as the two entered.

"Uh, hi Sasuke-sama," Naruto said, not knowing what to say.

Sasuke nodded before standing up. He walked over to a file cabinet and pulled out a box. "Here." He tossed the box to Naruto who caught it and looked down. His eyes widened. It was a cell phone.

"This is... I can't take this!" Naruto said. "It's too expensive!"

"It wasn't much," Sasuke said. "Besides, I think it would be better if you could talk to your friends somewhere besides the dinning room."

"Oh," Naruto looked down. "I didn't mean to bother you."

"It didn't bother me," Sasuke said quickly causing Kurama to give him a strange look. "I just believe it would be good if you had a cell phone. You never know when I... Kohaku may need you."

"Ok," Naruto smiled. "Oh! Fu's birthday party is Friday night. Is it alright if I go?"

"That's fine," Sasuke said.

"Alright!" Naruto cheered. "Sakura-chan will be picking me up at six then! Ah! I need to program her number in my phone!" He rushed out of the room.

"Are you ok with this?" Kurama asked.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Kurama sighed. "It's nothing."

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"Naruto!" Kurama called. "Sakura's gonna be here in five minutes!"

"Coming!" Naruto yelled. He closed the door behind him before coming down the stairs.

"'Bout time," Kurama said. "What? Did it take too long to fix...your hair." Her mouth fell open at the site of Naruto. The boy was dressed in what could only be known as sexy clothing. A pair of tight black skinny jeans hugged his lower half, not leaving anything to the imagination. A fishnet tank-top sat under a black leather jacket. Naruto's hair was still wild, but it just made him look even better.

"Kurama?" Naruto asked. "What's wrong?"

Kurama shook her head. "Nothing."

Ding Dong. Ding dong.

"Well, that's Sakura-chan!" Naruto said cheerfully. He skipped to the door, leaving Kurama frozen at the bottom of the stairs. "Bye Kurama!" Kurama blinked, turned around and opened her mouth, but her words didn't come out as the door closed behind Naruto and he was gone. She bolted to the door and sung it open to see Sakura's car going down the street. Kurama cursed as her chance at getting Naruto to change had literally walked out the door.

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Fu opened the door with a smile on her face. She wore a white short skirt and a tube top, showing off her small stomach. Her orange eyes shine brightly as she took in her best friend and the boy said friend had a crush on. Fu wasn't stupid. She could tell that Sakura like Naruto, but Naruto didn't seem to notice Sakura's attraction towards him. Fu knew that if Sakura and Naruto were ever to get together, they'd need a little push. Fu had come to the decision that her party was the push they needed. "Hey guys! Come on in!" She let them walk passed her. "Looking good!" Several people were already taking up Fu's living room, drinking soda. Fu's parents had said no alcohol or else she'd be grounded. Without her phone, Fu just wouldn't be Fu.

A wolf whistle came from the crowd as a boy with green hair stepped forward. "Looking good Naruto!"

Naruto blushed, a hand going to the back of his neck. "Thanks."

"Sek-kun, stop flirting with Naruto!" Fu said.

"Oh come one Nee-chan," Sekkyoku "Sek-kun" said. He didn't like his real name so everyone called him Sek-kun. "You can't blame me when he looks like that." He motioned to Naruto.

Fu glanced at Naruto before turning back to her brother. "Whatever. Let's just have some fun!"

"Present time?" a boy asked. Naruto didn't know who it was.

"Yup!" Fu grinned. She sat down while Sek-kun and her boyfriend Senshi brought the gifts into the living room. Everyone sat down, most on the floor while some were on chairs. Fu grabbed Senshi's gift and opened it first. It was two tickets to see her favorite band. Fu hugged Senshi before showing them to Sakura who told Fu that she was very lucky to have Senshi. Fu continued to open her gifts until only the one from her parents remained. She frowned. Fu's parents weren't here and she didn't want to open their gift.

"You ok Fu?" Senshi asked.

"Yeah," Fu said. "I'll just wait until they come home." Senshi nodded before placing the package next to the opened gifts. "So! Who's ready for some pizza?" Several people cheered. One by one, everyone headed into the kitchen to grab some pizza. Several different conversations went on among the friends. Some left once they were done eating. Soon, there were only ten people left. "Want to play spin the bottle truth or dare?"

"Sounds fun," Sakura said. Naruto nodded, not really knowing how to play. The group formed a circle around a bottle that Senshi had grabbed from the recycling. "Since I'm the birthday girl, I'll spin first. Whomever it lands on must pick truth or dare. I'll either ask them a question or make them do something, just nothing too far."

"How far is too far?" Sek-kun asked.

"If you have to ask, then it is too far," Fu said. "Anyway, you are allowed to turn down one truth and one dare. Understand?" Everyone nodded. "Cool! Then lets start!" Fu reached for the bottle and spun it. When it finally stopped, it was on Hinata. Fu grinned. "Hinata, truth or dare?"

"Um... d-dare?" Hinata said hesitantly.

"That's a bit surprising," Fu said. "Alright, then I dare you to sit in Shino's lap for ten seconds."

Hinata blushed. "O-ok." She stood up and slowly made her way to Shino, who was sitting right next to her. "E-excuse me." She carefully sat down on his lap. Shino didn't move, not wanting to scare her. Fu became to count down from ten. The moment she reached zero, Hinata jumped up and quickly took her seat, trying to calm down her erratic heart-beat. She glanced at Shino before taking her turn. The bottle landed on a girl name Yumi. She had blue hair and green eyes. "T-truth or dare?"

"Truth!" Yumi said loudly.

"D-do you h-have a c-crush on s-someone?" Hinata asked, blushing.

"Yup!" Yumi said. "Sek-kun!" She smiled. Sek-kun blushed slightly. Yumi's spin landed on Sek-kun. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Sek-kun managed to say.

"Kiss me," Yumi said. Several pairs of eyes widened. Yumi was always straight forward. Sek-kun looked at Fu who gave her approval. Sek-kun stood up, crossed the room, leaned down and kissed Yumi, on the cheek. "Only on the cheek?" Yumi asked. Sek-kun, still red in the face, nodded before returning to his spot on the floor and spinning the bottle. It landed on Sakura.

"Truth or dare?" Sek-kun asked.

"Truth," Sakura said, afraid to do any dares Sek-kun could come up with.

Sek-kun grinned. "Take of the shirt of the one your most attracted to in this game."

"That's a dare Sek-kun!" Fu yelled. "And not appropriate."

"Fine," Sek-kun sighed. "On a scale of one to ten, how likely are you to date someone from this group?'

Sakura looked around, stealing a glance at Naruto before turning her gaze to Sek-kun. "Eight."

"Here that Naruto, Kai?" Sek-kun said. "There is an eighty percent change that Sakura would date one of you."

"Who said it would be on of them?" Sakura asked jokingly. "Why not you, eh, Sek-kyo-ku-kun?" Sek-kun's jaw dropped before he frowned realizing that Sakura was teasing him. "My turn!" She spun the bottle. "Truth or dare?" The game went on for a while. Sek-kun tried to make the others do some naughty things. While Fu turned down most of them, she allowed some. By the time the bottle finally landed on Naruto, Senshi and Kai were shirtless, Sek-kun was in only his boxers (thanks to Kai who got his revenge on the younger teen), and Hinata had fainted from kissing Shino. All eyes were now on Naruto and Yumi.

"Truth or dare?" Yumi asked.

"Dare," Naruto said.

"I dare you to..." Yumi paused in thought. She snapped her fingers. "Kiss the person you are most attractive to." Several of the others gasped.

"I can't do that," Naruto said. No one had expected that. "Fu-san is with Senshi, Hinata-chan is with Shino, and Yumi-san likes Sek-kun. That leaves Nari-chan and Sakura-chan. Don't you like Nari-chan Kai?" Kai nodded while Nari blushed.

"Then that means you like Sakura?" Yumi asked.

"Doesn't Lee like Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. Everyone else sweat-dropped. Yes, it was true that Lee was in love with Sakura. He was very energetic and easily became friends with Naruto. But Sakura didn't love Lee, or even like him that much. She found him annoying. Naruto looked around. "What is it?"

"N-nothing," Yumi said. "Guess the means you're using your dare-pass." Naruto nodded. "Then spin." And Naruto did. Soon, everyone was bored of the game. Kai and Nari went home a few seconds after the game ended. Hinata and Shino also left as it was getting really late.

"Do you guys want to stay the night?" Fu asked. "You can borrow clothes from us." She motioned to her brother and herself.

"Sure," Yumi said.

"I'd love to," Sakura said. "But..." She looked at Naruto.

"I'll call Sasuke and see what he says," Naruto said. He pulled out his cell phone. "Hello Sasuke-sama? I was just wondering if it was ok for me to stay over Fu's... Senshi-san and Sek-kun will be here... Yes... I'll ask." He turned to Sakura. "Can you bring me home before noon tomorrow?"

"Yes," Sakura said.

"She said she can," Naruto said into the phone. "Yes, Sasuke-sama. Can I talk to Kohaku? Yes, I'll wait." Naruto stayed quiet for a minute. "Hi Kohaku. How was you day?...Really?... Goood. Have a good night baby." Fu, Yumi, and Sakura couldn't help but find the way Naruto talked to Kohaku cute. "Good night Sasuke-sama." He waited a few more seconds before pulling the phone away from his ear and hanging up. "I can stay!" He smiled.

"Well, I think it is about time we go to bed," Senshi said.

"Let's sleep here," Yumi said.

"I don't know," Sakura said. "It isn't proper."

"Oh Sakura," Yumi said getting closer to her. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Just think how close you'll be to Naruto." Sakura blushed. "See? Not so bad after all."

"Right," Sakura coughed. "Here is fine."

"Ok," Fu said. "Senshi, help me get the sleeping bags and some blankets?" Senshi nodded and followed after Fu. Ten minutes later, they cam back with four sleeping bags and several blankets. They laid the sleeping bags open on the floor then placed the six blankets on top of them. "Now for pillows."

"I'll get them," Sek-kun said. "He ran up the stairs only to come back a few minutes later with six pillows.

"Now that that's set, we should change," Fu said. "Sakura, Yumi, come with me." The girls went with Fu while the boys went with Sek-kun. Senshi had some of his clothes in Sek-kun's closet since his family didn't mind him staying over Fu's and neither did Fu's family. Besides, there was no way he'd be able to fit in Sek-kun's clothes since the kid was smaller than he was.

"Here Naruto," Sek-kun said. "I haven't worn them since last year, but they're clean."

"Thanks," Naruto said taking the night set. The three of them changed quickly. Senshi wore a pair of black boxer-shorts and a black tee with the words "Sexy Ain't I?" written on it. Sek-kun wore a pair of dark blue boxer-shorts and a light blue shirt. Naruto pulled the strings of his borrowed shorts tighter since they were still too big. The shirt he wore slid a bit off of his shoulders, but it would do. Senshi and Sek-kun found Naruto cute in the oversized clothes, but didn't say anything.

They met the girls downstairs. Each wore a pair of night pants with a matching shirt, Sakura's pink, Yumi's green, and Fu's blue. The sleeping arrangements were harder to decide, but finally they decided that Sakura would sleep between Naruto and Yumi while Sek-kun was next to her and Fu with Senshi was on the far end. They left the light on in the bathroom just in case someone needed it during the night before turning off all the other lights. Naruto got comfortable before falling asleep.

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"You're letting him sleep over there?" Kurama yelled. "Sakura's there!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "So is Fu, her brother and her boyfriend."

"Don't you see what's going on?" Kurama asked. Sasuke just shrugged. "Arg! I'm dealing with two idiots." Kurama sighed while Sasuke frowned.

"You worry too much," Sasuke said, closing his lap top. "What is the worst that could happen?" He stood up and left his office. Kurama just shook her head before going back to her room.


	10. Chapter 10

Naruto felt something heavy on his chest, causing him to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was the color pink. Confused, he reached a hand up to his eyes and rubbed away the sleep still in them. He blinked before looking down. Sakura was curled up against him, her head and an arm on his chest. At first, Naruto had no idea how this had happened. Then he looked over at the others. It seemed Sakura wasn't the only one that moved in her sleep. Yumi was like a mirror image of Sakura, except that she had a leg between Sek-kun's. Fu however was completely on top of Senshi. Sighing, Naruto removed himself from under Sakura, gently placing her back down. He quietly stood up and made his way to the bathroom.

Green eyes opened as the warmth that surrounded her was gone. Sakura looked around and blushed at the sight of Yumi and Sek-kun and Fu and Senshi. She only hoped the same thing hadn't happened with her and Naruto. It wasn't long before she heard the door of the bathroom open. She closed her eyes as the light footsteps came closer to her. She soon felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered, gently shaking Sakura,

"Naruto?' Sakura asked. She sat up. "What is it?"

"I um... should we wake them up?" Naruto motioned to the two couples.

"I'll do it," Sakura said. "Why don't you go make us some pancakes or something? Fu won't mind if you use her kitchen." Naruto hesitated before nodded. He quietly made his way to the kitchen. Sakura laid back down and sighed. She really wanted to go back to bed. Deciding that Naruto was right, she rolled over to shake Yumi awake. "Yumi? Yumi. Wake up."

"Five more minutes," Yumi said, snuggling into Sek-kun. Sakura rolled her eyes before continuing to shake Yumi. "Alright already!" Yumi yelled causing the others to awaken. Sek-kun blushed as Yumi moved away from him, not really caring about her sleeping position. Fu and Senshi also didn't react to theirs since it was common or them.

"What's that smell?" Fu asked.

"Naruto's making pancakes," Sakura said. "I told him it was ok to use your kitchen."

"Good," Fu said. "I'm too lazy to make breakfast anyway."

"As if you could," Sek-kun said. "You'd probably burn down the house first."

"Sekkyoku!" Fu yelled. Senshi held Fu back as Sek-kun laughed. Yumi joined in the laughter since she agreed with Sek-kun. Fu was really bad at cooking. The five of them stood up and made their way into the kitchen to see Naruto working on the sixth pancake.

"Good morning," Naruto said as he plated the pancake. "I don't know how many you guys wanted, so I thought a dozen would be a good start."

"More like three dozen," Fu said. "Sek-kun can eat half of that on his own."

"Nee-chan!" Sek-kun yelled, blushing. He turned to Naruto. "I'll eat five of them, not twenty-four." He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out some maple syrup, butter, and a full gallon of milk. Senshi grabbed more plates and glasses before setting the table with them while Fu grabbed the utensils. Yumi pulled out another pan while Sakura mixed some more batter. Two dozen pancakes later, everyone was full. Sakura had only had two pancakes while Fu had three and Yumi had four. The boys each had five. In all honesty, Naruto could have ate more, but he held back.

Yumi's phone suddenly rang. She answered it. "Hi mom. Yeah, I'll be home soon. Sure, I can pick it up. Half an hour? Got it! See you then." She hung up. "Seems my mom ordered some food. I'm gonna have to go pick it up." She turned to Naruto. "Need a ride home?"

"Sure," Naruto said. "Just let me get my things." Naruto ran to Sek-kun's room.

"What?" Yumi asked, notice that the others were staring at her. Fu just made a strange face while the others just continued to stare at Yumi. She sighed. "Look, it's on the way. He needs to be home by noon anyway."

"But I already said I'd take him home," Sakura said. Fu nodded at this.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Yumi said. "I'm just taking Naruto home. It isn't like I'm taking him on a date or anything."

"But you know I like him!" Sakura yelled.

A loud thud of a foot stepping down a bit harder than intended caused everyone to turn to see Naruto standing in the doorway. "Sorry," he said. "I.. uh... sorry!" He bolted out the room and ran towards the exit. Sakura's eyes widened before she went after him. Yumi just smiled when Fu glared at her.

Sakura chased Naruto down the street until a car nearly ran him over. The driver was yelling at the blond as Sakura stopped behind him. She bowed and apologized before grabbing Naruto's arm and pulling him away from the angry man. The man drove off cursing stupid teens. Sakura and Naruto walked to Sakura's car, each getting in. Sakura decided that since Naruto still had his things, that driving him home now was a good idea. It would allow them to talk. She drove about five minutes before breaking the silence. "How much did you hear?"

Naruto hesitated before being honest. "Everything."

Sakura blushed. "I see." She turned slightly, making sure to keep an eye on the road. "And? How... how do you feel?" Naruto didn't say anything. All he kept picturing was Kurama telling him that she told him so. Sakura took his silence as rejection. "I see. I'm sorry to burden you with my feelings."

"They're not a burden!" Naruto said loudly. "I mean... we're friends. And um... I don't know..."

"If we could be something more," Sakura began. "Would you be interested?"

"I don't know, Sakura," Naruto said. "I just don't see you that way. I mean... I've never been in love before. I love Kohaku and Kurama and Sai and... but that's a different kind of love than what you're talking about. I guess I'm just not ready to think that way. You know, I've never even thought about it, falling in love, dating, getting married, having kids. That seems too far away, like a dream."

"Do you want to?" Sakura asked. "To one day get married and have kids?"

"I'm not sure," Naruto said. "I mean I have Kohaku to look after, but that's it. I guess that stuff would be fun. Just not now."

"Ok," Sakura said nodding. "I understand." Silence filled that car and Sakura continued to drive. Several minutes later, she pulled into Sasuke's driveway. She stopped the car and remained quiet.

"I still want us to be friends," Naruto finally said.

Sakura couldn't help but smile. "Yeah."

"Thank god!" a loud voice said, interrupting their moment. Both turned to see Kurama running towards them with Kohaku in her arms. "He won't stop crying." Naruto stepped out of the car, taking Kohaku from Kurama. The boy instantly stopped crying and clung to Naruto.

"Are you ok?" Naruto asked.

"Scawwy dweam," Kohaku said. "You leave us."

"I'm not leaving," Naruto said. "I'll always be with you."

"Realwy?" Kohaku asked.

Naruto smiled. "Really."

Sakura gasped. The smile on Naruto's face was beautiful. She realized right then and there that the one taking up most of Naruto's heart was Kohaku. She also realized that she had no chance in beating the three-year-old.

"You got him to stop crying, I see," Sai said. He had just gotten back a few hours ago. Behind him stood Sasuke. Sakura's eyes widened. She had met Sai that day at the zoo and knew he was handsome, but Sasuke was just out of this world. The man stood taller than Sai with a dominating presence. His black eyes found Sakura's but soon he refocused them on Naruto and his son. Sakura gulped. This man scared her. She watched as Naruto, Sai, and Kurama began to discuss Kohaku's nightmare. Her eyes though weren't on the four of them, but on Sasuke. The man just stood back, not saying a word, but he seems to stand out the most. Sasuke's eyes once more landed on Sakura and the girl only knew one thing, Sasuke didn't like her. This surprised a bit since they hadn't really met, as this was the first time she's seen him. But she too had to agree that she didn't like Sasuke. Yes, she found him attractive, yet something told her to stay away.

"Do you want to come in, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"No," Sakura said a bit too quickly. "I left my stuff back at Fu's. I'm gonna go back and get it. I also need to clear the air with Yumi."

Naruto nodded. "Alright! See you later then!" He managed to give a small wave while keeping Kohaku in his arms. Sakura drove off, mind stuck on Sasuke.


	11. Chapter 11

Naruto bolted up quickly, sweeting. He had another nightmare. He didn't know why they had started, but it was of the same thing, his past. The first time that he had awoke from one, Kurama, Sai, and Sasuke had run into the room. His scream had even awoken Kohaku. The second time was similar to the first, just without Sai. Sai had once more disappeared to do another job. This time however, only Sasuke walked into the room. He sat down on the bed.

"This has to stop Naruto," Sasuke said. "You keep waking Kohaku up."

"I know," Naruto said. "I'm sorry."

"Will you tell me about them?" Sasuke asked. "About your nightmares?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not ready."

"Alright," Sasuke said. "But if it happens again, I'll take you to someone so you can talk to them."

"Ok," Naruto agreed.

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The driver pulled up to a building, parking the car. Naruto peaked out the window, trying to read the name plate, but it was too dark to see. He had three more nightmares before Sasuke decided to drag Naruto here. The raven was already out of the car, waiting on the second step for the blond. Naruto slowly got out of the car before walking up to Sasuke. The man urged Naruto to open the door, and he did. The driver drove off, leaving the two men behind. Naruto stepped into the building first, Sasuke not a minute behind. The had to open two doors before walking down what seemed to be a never-ending hallway, when it was only about sixty feet long. Only three offices were on each side. The stopped before the last door on the left. Naruto was able to read the name Kakashi before Sasuke push him forward.

The office was a pale blue. Chairs lined the wall to the right. Some books sat atop a side table. A large window covered most of the wall on the left. The window however did not lead to the outside. Behind it was a room that was similar to Sasuke's office, only filled with more color. A woman with dark brown hair sat in a chair, chewing on gum. In her hands was a magazine about weapons. She flipped the page, popping a gum bubble, before looking up at Sasuke and Naruto. "Mr. Uchiha," the woman said.

"Hn," Sasuke said.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Kakashi should be done soon." Sasuke nodded. She looked over at Naruto. "First time?"

"Eh?" Naruto asked.

"Seeing a therapist," the woman added. Naruto nodded. "It's a good thing you're seeing Kakashi then. He knows how to help. He's not one of those people there to just listen. Though, he can be a bit lazy."

"There's no need to tell him that," a voice said. Naruto turned to see a man standing in the now opened door of the room nearly hidden by the wallpaper. He wore a medical mask over his mouth and an eye patch over his left eye. A shorter man was behind him. He bowed to Sasuke and Naruto as he walked by them and to the woman.

"I only speak the truth," she said. She turned to the shorter man. "Same time next week Yuto?" The man nodded. "See you then." The man bowed to the woman before walking out of the room. "One day I'll get him to actually talk to me."

"Yuto doesn't like to talk," Kakashi said. "You know that Tenten."

"Still," Tenten said. "He talks to you."

"So," Kakashi turned to Sasuke and Naruto. "On time as always, Sasuke."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted.

"Naruto right?" Kakashi said more than asked. "Come right this way." He held the door open more for Naruto to walk by. With one last glance at Sasuke, Naruto stepped into Kakashi's office.

The office was bigger than the waiting room. There was a couch in the center of the room with a reclining chair across from it. On the walls were pictures of places that someone had gone to, but there was no pictures of Kakashi or any other person. The walls were a lime green, but it wasn't very bright.

Kakashi led Naruto to the reclining chair. He wondered why he got the chair when he saw Kakashi lay down on the couch. "Get as comfortable as you can," Kakashi said. He had one leg hanging off the couch and he pulled out an orange book that Naruto could tell wasn't a normal novel. "Sasuke said you were having nightmares. Why don't you start there."

"Did Sasuke tell you about my past?" Naruto asked.

"Not really," Kakashi said. "He wants you to tell me."

Naruto nodded. "Have you heard of Sound and their... system? Of what they do to people who weren't needed?" Kakashi nodded. "I don't remember much from before I was four, but I do know that I wasn't always there. I have memories of someone telling me they loved me. My guess is that it was my mother. If she loved me, then the only reason I could come up with why I was brought there, was that she died. No one took me in. Instead, I was put into that place. It had to have been after I turned four since I have a faint memory of a piece of cake with the number four on it." He paused. "It was chocolate flavored."

"Is that the last memory you have before arriving at Sound's Penitentiary?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes," Naruto said. "The only other memory is one of darkness. I can't see anything, but I can hear it. The sound of rain, thunder, and lightning. I think I was there, the night mom died. But it was so bad that I can't remember it."

"Is this memory causing the nightmares?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No. It is... my time there." Kakashi sat up, putting the book down, moving slightly so his body was completely on the couch. Naruto took that as Kakashi's way to tell him to continue. "The men had it easy. Screams came from the women's side almost every night. But they were times that it came from the men's side. I wasn't always alone. There had been one other boy with me. He was three, may be four, years older than me. He was very good looking, and kind. I remember him standing up for me when a man tried to take away my food. You see, once a month we'd be allowed out of our cells and into a much bigger room. Some men would meet up with a few women. I know that people have... needs. And this was the time to take care of them, with people of the opposite sex.

The "Boss" as the guards called him would have a big gathering to celebrate his birthday. I don't know why, but he let each of us have a piece of cake. Just like mine, it was chocolate. He must have loved chocolate cake. Anyway, during his birthday, a group of men came towards me, trying to take my piece away from me. That's when my cellmate, Dani (dun-knee) ran between us, arms out telling them to back off and that they already had their own pieces. A fight broke out, the leader of the group grabbing Dani's collar. Words were exchanged, ones I could hear, before the man released Dani. Dani then walked off with the group. He didn't return to our cell." He looked up into Kakashi's eye. "I'm not stupid. I know what happened. Dani's cries echoed through the penitentiary. It didn't stop; for hours he went on screaming. A weird noise came minutes after he finally stopped. I was curious since it cause a commotion from the guards. From the holes between the guards, I could make out Dani's form. Not wanting to clean up the 'mess' a guard unlocked my cell and dragged me out." Naruto shivered. "Dani's body was covered in bruises, some that were still forming. Blood caked the lower part of his gown. I knew what had happened and called the men out for it, but the guards didn't care. I was so angry that I tried to attack them. I was thrown back in my cell while those men took care of Dani." Naruto clenched his fists. "His body was burned, just like all the others that died there."

"Are your dreams about Dani?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded. "Except sometimes I'm in his place. A month after the incident, those same men stopped me, right before I could enter my cell. The leader demanded that I come with him. I refused, making him mad enough to threaten me. He said that if I didn't go with him, the same thing that happened with Dani would happen to me. I went with them." Kakashi didn't say anything. There was one question on his mind, yet he didn't want to hear the answer. He was afraid to. "I've always thought I was lucky." Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that. "A guard that had just started working there saw us. He was far too kind to be someone that worked there. He quit a few days later. Before though, he got me away from that group of men. He also put up a fight with the 'Boss' with how we were treated. The 'Boss' simply told the guard to deal with it on his own. The guard killed them, all six of them. He came into my cell after he did it, still carrying the knife. Dropping to his knees, he threw his arm around me and apologized. I didn't understand what he meant. Not until I overheard the other guards. Apparently, after quitting, he hung himself." Kakashi's eyes widened. "It was my fault. If he hadn't tried to save me, he'd still be alive."

Kakashi didn't know what to say. He's dealt with people who've been raped, beaten, and even some that bloodied their own hands. But Naruto went through all of that and more. Sure he wasn't raped, but a friend of his was, and all over a piece of cake. To witness so much at such young age, it was no wonder that Naruto had nightmares. But that in itself brought about a question. Why was Naruto having these nightmares now? "Did something happen to bring about these nightmares?" Naruto looked confused. "Something must have triggered them. Did anything happen, even if it was something small, that was similar to your past?"

Naruto froze. Then he shrugged, trying to act normal. But Kakashi saw through it. Something must have happened that Naruto didn't want to talk about. This reminded Kakashi of Yuto. Yuto's past was a bit of a mystery even after a few months of working with him. He really liked to talk about his past, but Kakashi had managed to get a lot out of him. Just like Naruto, Yuto lost someone important to him, right in front of him. However, unlike the blond, Yuto never stepped foot into Sound. Kakashi wondered if having a joint session of the two would help them.

"I understand," Kakashi said. Naruto looked up at that. "You are not ready to talk about it. Just know that anything we talk about will never leave this room."

"I saw it," Naruto blurted out, face red. "Sai was... together with someone."

"So you saw Sai having sex with another man." Naruto blushed, nodding. "And it brought back memories of Dani." Again, Naruto nodded. "I see. Do you believe what happened between Sai and his partner was not consensual?"

"It's not that. I know that Sai wouldn't do something like that. It's just that..." He looked away.

"I think I understand," Kakashi said. He glanced at something behind Naruto. Naruto turned to see a clock. He didn't know how, but an hour had gone by. "For now, I think it would be best if you came here at least twice a week." Naruto nodded. "Sasuke should be outside waiting for you. Shall I escort you?"

Naruto laughed. "No, thank you."

"You're welcome," Kakashi said. He paused before adding, "Tenten will set up your next appointment."

Naruto left the room, feeling better. Telling Kakashi about his past was one of the steps he needed to take to move on. His eyes found Sasuke, who was reading a book. One day, he'd have to tell him too. Sasuke looked up, his eyes meeting Naruto's. Closing the book, Sasuke stood up. "How did it go?"

"Good," Naruto said. "He said to see him twice a week." He looked down. "But I don't have to. I mean, you're already doing a lot for me and..."

"It's fine," Sasuke said. "Tenten, are Mondays at six free?."

"Yes," Tenten said. "Should I also put you in for Fridays, the same time?"

"Hn," Sasuke said.

Tenten typed something on her computer. " 're all set. I'll see you then."

Sasuke only nodded before heading for the door and pulling out his cell phone. "Bye Tenten!" Naruto said. "See you Monday!"

Tenten smiled. "See you then."

Naruto quickly followed after Sasuke. They didn't have to wait long before the car pulled in to bring them home. Naruto glanced a few times at Sasuke, before looking out the window.

"Whatever you want to say, just say it," Sasuke said.

"I just..." Naruto began. "How do you know Kakashi?"

"I saw him for awhile," Sasuke said. "After my parents... and after Itachi." Naruto wanted to ask Sasuke about his parents, but he remained silent. The rest of the ride home, only the sound of the radio broke the silence.


	12. Chapter 12

It all started with a simple question. In all honesty, it was a wonder that no one had brought it up over the last three years. To make it worst, it was the youngest person in the house that asked it.

Kohaku was now three and a half, meaning it was time for him to start preschool. Over the last week, the Uchiha house had spent their time preparing for it. Kurama and Sasuke had a fight over who would pick him up, but it came to a resolution when Naruto volunteered to do it. He didn't mind taking a bus to pick Kohaku up. Sasuke however, decided that Naruto would take the car to pick him up. The driver happily accepted this new part of his day. Now, everyone was gathered for an early breakfast. Kurama and Kohaku had managed to get later shifts to show Kohaku off.

"Are you ready for preschool, Kohaku?" Kaguya asked.

"Yup!" Kohaku said, taking a bit of his pancake. "Is Nawu going to school too?" Everyone froze at the question, especially Sasuke. He wanted to hit himself. Naruto was seventeen, nearing eighteen, but he wasn't going to school. All eyes turned to Naruto.

"Ah..." Naruto began. He turned towards Kohaku. "I don't go to school."

"Why?" Kohaku asked, tilting his head.

"Well, I've never gone to school before," Naruto said. "I...um... never got the chance."

"Then Nawu come with me!" Kohaku said. "Nawu and Ko-chan go to school together!"

"I can't," Naruto said. "I'm seventeen, too old to go to preschool." Kohaku looked down. "But I'll bring you there and pick you up every day! Then we can spend time afterwards together!" At this Kohaku smiled.

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While a maid got Kohaku ready, Sasuke took Naruto aside. "Have you ever thought about going to school?"

"Well yeah," Naruto said. "Sakura and her friends use to talk about their school lives all the time. But you don't have to worry. I'll be eighteen soon so it's too late for me to go. Besides, I don't have the money and I doubt I'd pass any entrance exam." He smiled. "I better go. We have to get Kohaku to school." Sasuke watched Naruto leave the room with a frown on his face. It wasn't right. Naruto deserved to go to school if he wanted to. The wheels in his brain began to turn as an idea popped in his head. No one saw the evil smile on Sasuke's face.

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Naruto sat across from Sasuke who was talking on the phone. Sasuke had asked Naruto to come to his office for a minute. He was just about to speak when his phone rang. After hearing Sasuke yell, without speaking loader than normal, at whomever was on the phone, Naruto wondered what Sasuke wanted with him. The angry look on the man's face scared him. Naruto knew the anger was at whomever was on the phone, but that didn't help shut down the nervousness he felt.

Sasuke hung up the phone, sighing. He looked at Naruto. "Sorry about that. It seems one of my underlings doesn't know how to do his job."

"It's fine," Naruto said. "What did you want to talk about?"

Sasuke pulled a folder from a pile on his desk and placed it in front of Naruto. "Take a look."

Naruto opened the file. Inside were a few pictures of what looked like a school. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw a piece of paper that had his name on it. It was a student information page. Almost all of it was filled out. "This is..."

"All you need to do is sign the bottom," Sasuke said. "And you can start school as soon as tomorrow."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"I know that you want to go," Sasuke said. "Besides, a seventeen-year-old should be in school."

"But I've never gone to school before!" Naruto said. "There is no way I'd fit in. Besides, I'm way behind on whatever they are studying."

"I'll help you," Sasuke said. "And so will Kurama. If necessary, I can hire a tutor for you."

"I..." Naruto looked down. He knew that no matter how much he argued with Sasuke, the man would convince Naruto to go to school. "Thank you."

Sasuke smiled. "You're welcome."

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"Alright class," the teacher said. "We have a new student. Please welcome him." He motioned for Naruto to step forward. "Introduce yourself."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said. He bowed. "This is my first time coming to school. I hope we can be friends." He smiled. Some of his classmates smiled back, but most were expressionless. Naruto briefly wonder if this was where Sasuke went to school.

"Alright," the teacher said. "Take a seat next to.. let's see... there is a free seat next to Gaara." Naruto followed the teacher's gaze and found a boy with red hair. There was black around his green eyes and a red tattoo that said love. The boy didn't say a word when the teacher said his name. Instead, some of the others whispered something that Naruto didn't hear. Naruto made his way to the back and took his seat next to Gaara. "Now turn to page 83. Gaara, Naruto doesn't have his books yet, so please share with him." Gaara opened his book and pushed it closer to Naruto. Naruto moved his chair closer to Gaara's. "In 1962..." And so, the history lesson began.

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Naruto ended up having four out of his six classes with Gaara. It seemed word of him sitting next to him in their first class had gotten around and Naruto was now sharing Gaara's books in each of their shared classes. All this time however, Gaara hadn't spoken to Naruto. Naruto also hadn't said anything to him except his thanks for sharing his books. The response he got was a simple nod. It was at lunch that he found out that Gaara rarely spoke to anyone. Some of his other classmates had asked him to join them for lunch and when Naruto saw that Gaara was sitting alone, he asked them if it was alright to ask Gaara to join them. A boy had said not to bother since Gaara was a loner and that it would just annoy the red-head if Naruto tried to squeeze his way into his life. Naruto had agreed to leave Gaara alone, despite his desire to befriend the boy.

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Naruto was enjoying his fifth day at school when the door of his current class slammed open. A boy with short golden-brown hair and slightly tanned skin stood in the doorway. He had a toothpick in his mouth, a pointed tooth peeking out as he chew on it. His golden eyes moved around the room until he found Naruto. The boy smirked. "Looks like we have a newbie."

"Shukaku, nice of you to join us today," the teacher said.

"I thought I'd stop by and see how things were going," Shukaku said.

"Just take a seat," the teacher said.

"Sure, teach!" Shukaku said. He moved his way to the back and stood before the girl sitting next to Naruto. "Move." The girl quickly grabbed her stuff and moved to the only empty seat in the room. Shukaku sat down, putting his feet up on the table before him. The teacher just rolled her eyes before continuing the lesson.

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Naruto sat with some of his friends at lunch. A sudden noise caused Naruto to stop talking. Several pairs of eyes turned to look at Shukaku and another boy who was on the floor. A tray of food was at Shukaku's feet, upturned. "Well?" Shukaku asked.

"I'm sorry," the boy said.

"Sorry?" Shukaku questioned. "You think an apology is enough? There's ketchup on my shoe."

"I'll clean it," the boy said, reaching for a napkin.

Shukaku bent down, taking the boy's chin in his hand. "I think not." He stood back up. "Lick it." The boy didn't move. "I said, lick it."

"Aren't you going too far?" Naruto asked, loudly. The kids at his table gasped. "It is just ketchup."

"Oh?" Shukaku turned towards Naruto. "So the newbie's a hero? How lovely." He walked over to Naruto and raised his foot. It was the shoe that had ketchup on it. "Then you clean it." Naruto grabbed his water and poured it on the shoe. As the water seeped through onto his sock, Shukaku's smile disappeared. He grabbed Naruto's arm, pulled him forward and slammed his knee into his stomach. Naruto coughed, falling to the floor. "Learn you place, brat."

"Better here than in your messed up world," Naruto said.

Shukaku slammed his fist into Naruto's face. "Since you're new here, I'll forgive you. But I expect your friends to teach you the rules. Or I'll have to just show you who you're messing with." With one last look at Naruto, Shukaku turned around and walked out of the cafeteria.

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"What happened?" Kurama asked.

"It's nothing," Naruto said. He had a bruise on his cheek with a cut on his lip.

"Obviously something happened at school," Kurama said. "What was it? Are you being bullied?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Naruto said. "I... I don't want to talk about it." Naruto bowed slightly and walked away.

"You'll have to talk to someone," Kurama whispered.

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"So you defending someone you didn't know from a bully," Kakashi said. "And in doing so, you got hurt." Naruto nodded. "Does this have anything to do with Dani?"

Naruto flinched at the name, but nodded. "I don't know why, but I thought about what Dani would have done had he been alive and in my place. Before I realized what I was doing, I was standing up to Shukaku."

"I see," Kakashi said. "Do you regret it?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, I... I don't."

"And the reason you didn't tell Kurama or Sasuke what had happened was because you feel guilty? That you enjoyed the power that saving that boy gave you?"

Naruto looked down. "I don't know."

"What you did wasn't wrong," Kakashi said. Naruto looked up at that. "Had I been in your place, I'd have done the same."

"But no one else stood up to him," Naruto said. "They just sat back and watched!"

"Fear held them back," Kakashi said. "They must have faced his wrath enough times to give into him. As the new kid, you haven't tasted the fear he has instilled in them."

"So you're saying I should be a coward and let him do what he wants?" Naruto asked.

"You are not a coward and neither are they," Kakashi said. "They simply grew up in a sheltered world where they are forced to give in to such a powerful force. You on the other hand, has faced far worse. You are capable of overcoming such a thing."

"I don't understand," Naruto said.

"You don't have to," Kakashi said. "Shukaku has his reasons for what he does. Though, that doesn't make him right. There may be something in his past that makes him believe he has to use violence to get what he wants. Know this, violence only leads to pain, just as revenge only continues in an endless cycle. Neither is ever the answer."

Naruto smiled. "Thank you."

Kakashi's eyes closed and Naruto could tell that he was smiling too. "You're welcome. I suppose I'll see you next week?" Naruto nodded. "Then have a good night." Naruto stood up and headed for the door. "Oh and Naruto?" Naruto turned around. "Trust may be earned and not given freely, but think about the price that suits that trust." Naruto looked confused, yet Kakashi didn't say another word. Naruto closed the door quietly behind, said a quick good-bye to Tenten, and got in the car, ready to go home.


	13. Chapter 13

Naruto made his way through the halls, ready to pick up Kohaku. It was Friday and he was already ten minutes late. When he got to the room, he quickly opened the door and bowed. "I'm so sorry!"

"Nawu!" Kohaku cheered, running to the blonde's arms.

"It's alright," the teacher said. "You aren't that late. Besides, Matatabi's still here." He motioned to the litter girl that was still playing with some blocks."

"Where's her parents?" Naruto asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"At work," the teacher said. "Her brother should be here soon though."

"Nawu stay," Kohaku said. "No leave Mata-chan."

"Alright," Naruto said. "We'll stay, just until her brother comes."

"Yay!" Kohaku said. He hugged Naruto before running over to play with Matatabi.

"Kohaku and Matatabi get along really well," the teacher said. Naruto notice that she was still wearing her name tag. It read Amaru. "He's a good kid."

Naruto smiled. "I know." The door suddenly slammed open to reveal Shukaku. His hair was dripping water.

"Damn rain, coming out of nowhere.," Shukaku said. He looked up to see Naruto and Amaru staring at him. He crossed his arms and glared at Naruto. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick up Kohaku," Naruto said, motioning to the boy who was helping Matatabi put away the blocks. "We just stayed until Matatabi was picked up. And now that you're here, we're going. Kohaku," Naruto spoke a bit louder. "It's time to go home."

"Ok," Kohaku said, putting away the last block before walking to Naruto's side.

"I didn't know you had a little brother," Shukaku said.

"I didn't know you had a little sister," Naruto retorted.

"Nawu not bwothew," Kohaku said. "Nawu is Ko-chan's mommy!" He had a big smile on his face as he said this. Naruto's jaw dropped while Shukaku started laughing.

Naruto glared at Shukaku before kneeling down. "Ko-chan, I'm not your mommy."

"But Shu-chan said that a mommy takes care of you and wuves you," Kohaku said. Tears suddenly filled his eyes. "Nawu no wuve Ko-chan 'more?

Naruto wrapped his arms around Kohaku, pulling him towards his body. "Of course I love you. You are my darling Kohaku. There is no one I love more than you." He waited until Kohaku calmed down before pulling back. "But I'm not your mommy. I'm your... nanny." That title didn't make Naruto feel any better about being compared to a woman.

Shukaku had long since stopped laughing. He looked at the scene with a bit of jealousy, not knowing why he felt that way. He decided that laughing would be better after all. "A nanny? You're a nanny?"

"Bwother? Matatabi asked. Shukaku looked down at her, still laughing. "No make fun of Nawu!" She had her hands on her hips.

"Yeah!" Kohaku said, copying Matatabi.

Shukaku put up his hands in mock-surrender. "I won't."

"Here you go Shukaku," Amaru said. She had left to get a towel for him. "If you stay wet, you may get sick." She rubbed the towel against his head in an attempt to dry his hair. "I don't really want you and Matatabi going home in this."

"The bus stop isn't too far away," Shukaku said.

"Still the rain is..." Amaru began.

"We'll be fine," Shukaku said.

"Where do you live?" Naruto asked. Shukaku and Amaru looked at him. "We can bring you home. The car is outside waiting for us. Shukaku bit his lip. He didn't want to get in a car with Naruto, but Matatabi could get sick if they got stuck in the rain. He nodded.

"That's settled then!" Amaru said. "Bye Kohaku, Matatabi! See you tomorrow!" She waved them out.

The driver was surprised to see Shukaku and Matatabi, but welcomed them into the car. He cranked up the heat to keep everyone warm. "Where to?" he asked.

"Luci Street," Shukaku said. The driver nodded, pulling away from Kohaku's school. Naruto and Shukaku remained silent throughout the ride. Kohaku and Matatabi played with each other. It didn't take long to come to Skukaku's street. "It's the last one on the street." When they arrived at the apartment, Naruto frowned. It was run down. "Thanks for the ride." He grabbed his bag and picked up Matatabi's things before leaving the car. Naruto didn't want to leave them there, but he knew it wasn't his place.

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Naruto ended up having to stay at school for an extra few minutes. He needed to do some extra credit to bring up his grade. He quickly gathered his things, leaving the room. He quickly noticed that there were many people left in the school. He stopped at his locker to grab his bag.

"Shukaku!" a female voice called. Naruto looked down the hall to see the school nurse. Her back was to Naruto. Naruto had to head her way to get out of the building. The nurse held up a large bag. "It is going to get cold soon. My younger brother's clothes should fit you and Chomei's should fit Matatabi."

"You don't have to do that," Shukaku said.

"Please just take it," the nurse said, holding the bag out in front of her. "I know you'll need them."

"Thanks," Shukaku said.

The nurse smiled. "You're welcome." She turned around, nodded at Naruto, and went back into her office.

Shukaku looked up to see Naruto. He frowned before shifting his body and smirking. "What is it? Got something to say?"

"You're poor," Naruto said flatly. Shukaku just stared at Naruto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some information:
> 
> Shukaku is one year older than Naruto, but he had to stay back twice due to absences and bad grades. Matatabi is also a year older than Kohaku. Chomei is the nurse's daughter.


	14. Chapter 14

Shukaku handed Naruto a cup of tea before taking the seat next to him. After a few seconds of just staring at each other, both remembered that they had siblings to pick up. Naruto's driver drove the two to pick up Kohaku and Matatabi. He then brought them to Shukaku's after Naruto sent a quick text to Sasuke to let him know where he was going. Now, Naruto was waiting for Shukaku to talk while Kohaku and Matatabi were playing in her room.

"Our mother died shortly after Matatabi was born," Shukaku said. "She had been sick, and the pregnancy took a huge toll on her body. But she believed that she'd be ok, and if she wasn't, as long as we were ok, she didn't care if she died. I blamed Matatabi for her death. I even left her alone, crying, because I believed that if she died, mom would come back. Then one day, I couldn't take the crying anymore. I went in her room to silence her once and for all. I know it was bad of me to think that, but I was just so mad at her. Just as I was about to put the pillow to her face, her eyes opened. I was swept into those green depths. She has mom's eyes." Shukaku smiled. "I dropped the pillow and took her into my arms, promising to protect her."

He frowned. "Then he came into the room." Shukaku stood up, removed his shirt, and showed Naruto his back. Blue eyes widened as they took in the scars. "He whipped me only five times that night." Shukaku put his shirt back on. "Whenever he drinks too much, father beats me. He increased the lashings by five every time. One time, when Matatabi knocked over a glass of his whiskey while playing, he raised his hand. I stepped in, earning another thirty lashes on top of the twenty-five I had already gotten."

"Why didn't you tell the police?" Naruto asked.

"They don't care about kids like us," Shukaku said. "We're poor and we live in the dirty part of town. The police don't come here anymore." He took a sip of his tea. "The school nurse once patched me up. When she saw the scars, she called child services. They checked in on us while father was in his caring state and cleared him as a good parent. Realizing that they wouldn't help up, the nurse decided to help as much as she could. She knew that I gave all my money to Matatabi so she grow up well. Since she has a daughter a few years older than Matatabi, she gave us some hand-me-downs. Luckily, she also has a younger brother that lives with her. His old clothes fit me. The money father gives me, although it isn't much, allows us to eat."

Naruto remained quiet for a minute, Shukaku glad the blond hadn't spoken or laughed at him. Finally, Naruto spoke. "The way you act at school, it's your defense mechanism."

Shukaku nodded. "The only way to make sure no one hurts me is to make everyone fear me. But you don't."

"No," Naruto said. "And I won't ever be afraid of you."

Shukaku smiled. "Then may be..." His words died on the tip of his tongue as the door to the apartment was opened. Cursing could be heard from the man that walked in. From what Naruto could see, he could tell that Shukaku took after his father in looks.

Shukaku's father looked up at Shukaku and Naruto. "Who the hell said you could bring people into my house?"

"He's a classmate," Shukaku said.

"Get out," Shukaku's father yelled. "Now!"

Shukaku looked at Naruto. "You should go." Naruto hesitated but stood up to get Kohaku. Just as he entered Matatabi's room, a loud SMACK echoed through the apartment. Naruto quickly turned around to see Shukaku on the floor, a hand to his cheek. Shukaku's father kicked Shukaku in the stomach repeatedly. Naruto moved quickly, grabbing the man's arm. Not even caring who it was, the man swung his arm backwards, sending Naruto flying into a wall. He slid to the ground, watching as the man turned back to Shukaku.

"Stop!" a cry came from Matatabi who had run out of her room. She was tugging on her father's pant leg. Kohaku was also out of the room, but he was just standing a foot away from Naruto. Another cry came from Matatabi as her father pushed her away, knocking her to the floor. Shukau must have reached his limit, for he jumped up and attacked his father. The two rolled across the floor. With a lot of strength for a drunk man, Shukaku's father sent Shukaku flying into the couch. But Naruto would let it get any farther. He had Kohaku on his back and Matatabi in his arms. He rushed out of the apartment, put them into the car, ignoring the driver's concerned voice and returned to retrieve Shukaku. He found the two throwing punches at each other. Naruto managed to grab Shukaku's arm and pull him out the door. He dragged Shukaku down the stairs and to the car.

"Drive!" Naruto yelled at the driver. The man slammed his foot on the gas, just as Shukaku's father came through the building's entrance. The driver said nothing as he drove the four of them to the Uchiha mansion. "You two are staying with us. I won't let you go back there."

"Look here you..." Shukaku began, but one look at Naruto told him to shut up. He fell silent. Once they reached the mansion, Naruto pulled Shukaku out of the car. Matatabi and Kohaku followed after them with the driver holding up the rear.

Naruto ignored the maid's greeting as she held the door open for them. "Kurama! Sasuke!" At the desperation in his voice, Kurama instantly made her appearance.

"Naruto?" Kurama asked. "What's wrong?"

"Please," Naruto begged. "Let them stay." He motioned to Shukaku and Matatabi.

Kurama looked at them then back at Naruto. "What's going on?"

"Their asshole of a father was beating them!" Naruto yelled. "Please Kurama I..."

"They can stay," Sasuke said. Everyone looked towards him. He was at the top of the stairs, clearly coming from his office. "I'll have a maid set up rooms for them." He didn't say another word as he turned around and walked away.

Naruto dropped to his knees in relief. Kohaku walked over to the blond. "Nawu ok?"

Naruto pulled Kohaku into a hug. "Yeah. I'm ok."

Matatabi looked from Kohaku and Naruto to her brother. "Shu? You 'k?"

Shukaku smiled as he bent down and patted her head. "We will be."


	15. Chapter 15

Shukaku was overwhelmed with the sudden change to his life. Not only had he been provided a room, but he had also received new clothes and everything her could ever need. More so could be said for Matatabi who's room was filled with tons of toys. Both of their rooms were as big as the living room of the apartment they'd grown up in. Honestly, he didn't know how he felt about taking up Naruto's offer to live in the Uchiha Manor.

Shukaku was forced by Kurama, a woman he clearly feared, to stay there to heal. A doctor was even called in to look at his wounds. Every time Shukaku tried to leave, Kurama would get in his way. And each time, he turned tail and went back to his room. The reason Shukaku was afraid of Kurama was that when she found out that he had been the one to give Naruto a black eye, she went into over-protective-demon-mom-mode. Nothing Shukaku had seen before had been as scary. He had nightmares every time he closed his eyes about her.

Two weeks passed before Shukaku was allowed back at school. Everyone noticed a change in the boy. He no longer bullied anyone and he had dropped his bad-boy persona. Shukaku had to admit that the change in himself was good. When he got to the class he shared with Naruto, he took his seat next to him happily. Over the last few days, they had become friends. Gaara hadn't welcomed Shukaku's sudden change and friendship to the blond, but he quickly got use to it. They had a lot in common since Gaara's mother had died during his birth and his father blamed him for her death. Gaara lived with his two siblings in an apartment that the man had provided since he didn't want to look at any of his children. They didn't seem to care. Shukaku and Gaara talked about their similar experiences while Naruto just sat back listening.

On his fifth day back at school, Shukaku was brought to Kakashi by a combination of Naruto and Kurama. He spilled everything to Kakashi. Luckily, Kakashi said the right things. It wasn't long before news of Shukaku's father going to jail reached him. Shukaku was happy with the news. But he still went and talked with Kakashi. After his sessions with Kakashi, Naruto had his. Shukaku began to wonder why Naruto saw Kakashi.

"How do you know Kakashi?" Shukaku asked the blond while they were working on their homework together. Naruto put his can of soda down. Hesitation was clear on his face. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Naruto swallowed, taking a deep breath. "Ever heard of Sound's Penitentiary?" Shukaku's eyes widened at the name. yes, he'd heard of it. "I was raised there until I was fourteen. One day, Kohaku was placed in my cell. I took care of him and gre to love him. Sasuke came to take back his son and I kind of forced him to take me with him. I only wanted to make sure he wouldn't hurt Kohaku. And Sasuke loves Kohaku."

"Why were you sent there?" Shukaku asked. "And why Kohaku too if Sasuke loves him?"

"I didn't have any family and I wasn't needed," Naruto said. "From what I know, Kohaku's mother cheated on Sasuke, so he doubted the child was his. As punishment, he sent her there shortly after she gave birth. She died in there of some illness. I don't know why, but Sasuke must have realized that he'd done something wrong. But I know he loves Kohaku. He gives everything he can to him."

Shukaku nodded. "Sound's Penitentiary, you survived living there. How?" Naruto told Shukaku about Dani and the guard. He felt better afterwards, just as Kakashi had said. "I'm sorry, about what I've done."

"It's fine," Naruto said. "I know why you did it."

"Hm," Shukaku smirked. "Got the answer to number five."

"Of course!" Naruto said. "It's... um... I... I don't know." Shukaku smiled as he moved closer to Naruto to help him out. He enjoyed being near Naruto.

Sasuke, who had been standing in the doorway for the last twenty minutes, turned around and walked back to his office. He sat down, leaning back in his chair. He had heard everything that Naruto had told Shukaku about Sound's Penitentiary. And it pissed him off. Naruto had spilled everything to Shukaku, who less than a month ago had been an enemy. Yet for nearly four years, Naruto never talked about with Sasuke. Sasuke began to wonder if Sai or Kurama knew about Naruto's past. From the way Kurama acted with Naruto, he wouldn't be surprised if she knew. But then why didn't Sasuke? Did Naruto not trust him? Sasuke suddenly looked determined. He'd earn Naruto's trust if it was the last thing he did.

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The first thing Sasuke decided to do was to invite Naruto out for some fun. He thought about going to the movies, but it wouldn't give them a chance to talk. Sure, they could go out to eat afterwards, but that sounded more like a date than anything else. The next place that came to his mind was the zoo. Sadly, Naruto had already gone there with Sai and Kurama. Sasuke was sure he'd like to go again, but he wanted to pick a different place, somewhere better. That's when he remembered the one time he went to an amusement park. He had been six when his mother forced his father to take the day off and she had brought all of them to Suna's amusement park. It had been fun and even Fugaku seemed to have enjoyed himself.

The next problem was how to invite Naruto out. He could just flat out ask him, but again, that sounded like a date. His eyes fell on a picture of Naruto and Kohaku. Of course! He would just use the excuse that he's taking his son to the amusement park. Nodding to himself, Sasuke pulled out his planner and his cell phone, ready to make time to act out his plans.

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"I have today off," Sasuke said suddenly to everyone at the breakfast table. Sai was still gone, doing who knows what. Kurama's parents had already left for the day saying there was some work that needed to be done. That left Kurama, Shukaku, Matatabi, Kohaku, Naruto and Sasuke in the dining room.

"Really?" Kurama said surprised. "I can't remember the last time you've had a day off."

"I made sure to move any and all appointments to another day," Sasuke said.

"Why?" Kurama asked.

"I'm taking Kohaku to Suna's amusement park," Sasuke said.

Kohaku's eyes lit up. "Amu-Men Park? Wiff wides?"

"Yes," Sasuke said.

"Yes!" Kohaku yelled. "I wanna go! We have fun! Nawu come wiff us?" He looked at Naruto with pleading eyes.

"If it's alright with Sasuke-san," Naruto said.

"Daddy?" Kohaku asked, ready to do the puppy-dog-pout.

"Of course you can come with us Naruto," Sasuke said. "I need your help watching over Kohaku."

"An amusement park huh," Shukaku said. "I haven't been to one in years."

"We go too?" Matatabi asked.

"May be some other time," Shukaku said. "We wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense!" Kurama said. "I think all of us should go. Right Sasuke?" She gave the raven a look that dared him to argue with her.

"Hn," Sasuke said. "That's fine."

"Awesome!" Shukaku said. "Matatabi, let's get you ready." He lifted his happy sister out of her chair and rush up the stairs. It seemed he was the most excited to go.

"We should do the same," Naruto said to Kohaku. The little boy nodded and jumped down, following Naruto to his room.

"Sorry," Kurama said once she and Sasuke were alone. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you just wanted it to be the three of you. But I think Kohaku will have a better time if Matatabi goes too."

"That explains why they are going, but what about you?" Sasuke asked.

"I'll help you get alone with him," Kurama said. "I know that something is bothering you about Naruto and I want to help you two out." She stood up. "We better hurry up. Don't want four kids calling us slow pokes. Oh! And we better stop at a store to buy some bathing suits." She turned around and heading for her own room. Sasuke stayed behind for just a few second before he too went to get ready. Part of him was wondering why they needed bathing suits.

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They stopped at the mall and went to a store Kurama's family owned. There, they quickly found bathing suits for themselves. Kurama had picked out Sasuke's since the man was too stubborn to try any on. How she knew his size, he didn't know. She also helped pick out orange trunks for Naruto and blue ones for Kohaku. She ended up with a red bikini that caused Shukaku to blush when she came to show it off. Matatabi picked a blue princess one and just like Kurama, she showed it off. Kohaku called her pretty, causing Matatabi to yell that this was the one for her.

Kurama also picked up two bottle of sunscreen, two backpacks, and six pairs of sandals that matched everyone's bathing suits. Again, Sasuke was surprised that she knew their sizes. She place Sasuke's, Naruto's, and Kohaku's stuff in one bag while Shukaku's and Matatabi's thing were in her own. She also threw in a few small towels just incase. Before leaving the mall, Sasuke stopped at the bank, taking out way too much money. He didn't care if he didn't use all of it at the park or not.

The lines to get into the park were long, but Sasuke went straight into the VIP line. He was going to get the best tickets this place had to offer. The tickets were very expensive. Naruto and Shukaku tried to tell Sasuke that normal tickets would be ok, however, Sasuke didn't listen. The lady at the ticket booth handed the Uchiha his tickets and he walked on ahead, forcing the others to follow him. Kurama didn't see the harm in Sasuke buying the titanium ranked VIP passes. Sasuke handed the tickets over to the men that handed out the bands. Each man wrapped a blue band around the right hand of their group. The two men took out six reusable bottles. Kurama grabbed three of them while Sasuke grabbed the rest. Sasuke and Kurama each took a map of the park. The men quickly look through the contents of each backpack, checking for anything that wasn't allowed at the park. Once that was done, a coupon book was handed to Sasuke who gave it to Kurama. Kurama knew that Sasuke didn't really care about the coupons. She decided she'd simply give it to someone who might need it later. It only took a few more seconds before they were allowed into the park.

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Sasuke didn't know how, but all of a sudden he was alone with Naruto. It had only been an hour ago that the group had been having lunch, talking about all of the rides that couldn't wait to go on. They had gone into a mirror house only to get separated. Naruto and Sasuke managed to get out, but the others were nowhere to be seen. Sasuke pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, ready to call Kurama. His rang just as he was about to select her name.

"Kurama, where are you?" Sasuke asked. "What? Why? I don't care if they wanted to go on another ride. You should have waited for me. Is Kohaku ok? I see. Fine, we'll meet you there." He hung up the phone. "Seems the other went on ahead."

"Ok," Naruto said. He stepped forward. "We're going to meet up with them right?"

"Hn," Sasuke nodded. Naruto followed him to a sitting area. Sasuke picked a spot where Kurama would be able to see them no matter which direction they were coming from. He pulled a bottle of water from his backpack. "Do you want yours?"

"Sure," Naruto said. Sasuke handed him a bottle of orange soda. The two sat in silence, occasionally taking a sip of their drinks.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto. He wondered how to approach the subject of Sound. He was tempted to call Kakashi and ask him how to bring it up. Kurama would tell him to just get straight to the point. "Naruto."

"Hmm?" Naruto hummed.

"You told Kakashi about your time in Sound," Sasuke said. "Right?" Naruto nodded. "Are you ever going to tell me?"

Naruto stopped in the middle of a sip, moving his arm back towards his lap. "I… I…" He fell silent.

"You don't trust me?" Sasuke more said than asked.

"Of course I do!" Naruto yelled. Several pairs of eyes turned towards him. Sasuke just glared at them, forcing them to look away. "I mean… I trust you… more than anyone. It's just… I don't want you to hate me." His voice got quieter as he spoke, but Sasuke still managed to hear him.

"I couldn't," Sasuke said. Naruto looked up. "I could never hate you, Naruto."

Naruto bit his lip, blushing slightly. Then his mouth opened, forcing the words to come out. He told Sasuke everything he'd told Kakashi including the incident with Sai. Sasuke cursed Sai's name, setting a reminder to yell at the other when he popped up next. Once Naruto was finished speaking, the two let the silence return. Naruto glanced from his drink to Sasuke and back, hoping that Sasuke would still allow him around Kohaku.

FInally, Sasuke spoke. "It isn't fair," he said. "Honestly, who would send someone to that place?" He froze, his eyes widening. He had not only sent one, but three people to Sound. One committed suicide, one died of illness, and the third was his own son. He wanted to die. He had nearly given Kohaku the same fate that Naruto had or may be even worse. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Naruto asked. "You did what you thought was right. And then when you realized that you were wrong, you saved us. Kohaku is too young to remember any of it. Besides, I'm here now. You not only took me away from the place, but you gave me a place to stay."

"I want to give you more," Sasuke said. "I want to give you everything you deserve and more. I wish I could go back in time and take back what I've done to Mizori and Sena. Yes, they cheated on me, but I took it too far. A divorce should have been enough."

"Then you wouldn't have met me," Naruto said. "I know it may be selfish and bad of me to think this, but personally, I'm glad you sent them to Sound. If you hadn't, I'd still be there. Well, at least I hope I would be. For all I know, I could have ended up like Dani." Naruto and Sasuke shivered at the thought of the blond being dead. "But I was lucky."

"My mother use to say that things happened for a reason," Sasuke said. "I guess she was right."

"Will you tell me about them?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smiled at Naruto. "Soon." He stood up. That was when Naruto saw the others coming towards them. Sasuke started yelling at Kurama who tried to play it off. Kohaku had run towards Naruto, blabbing about all the fun he'd had with the others. Sasuke sighed, deciding since his plan had worked mostly thanks to Kurama that he'd let it go, this time. The group moved on together towards the next ride.


	16. Chapter 16

Sasuke frowned. He stood in silence staring at the part of the part he didn't want to enter. If there was one thing Sasuke was afraid of it was water. He wasn't afraid of taking a shower or drinking water, be he refused to even go near the swimming pool his mother had made his father get for the mansion. Of course one of Itachi's ex-friends was to blame for Sasuke's fear of water when the teen threw Sasuke, who was only three at the time, into the pool. When Itachi found his friend just standing there while Sasuke was drowning, Itachi nearly drowned his ex-friends. This was of course after he saved Sasuke. Sasuke still hated to admit that Itachi saved his life.

"Come on Sasuke!" Kurama yelled. "We're all waiting on you!"

"I think I have to pass," Sasuke said. "I just remembered that I left some work undone that I…"

"Don't be afraid," Kurama said, grabbing Sasuke's arm. "Itachi told me. You'll be fine." Kurama began to drag Sasuke into the Water Park. Sasuke put up a good fight, but Kurama was stronger than him. When Kurama finally let him go, they were standing in front of a water slide. Sasuke glared at it. It had to be a hundred feet tall. He glanced at the pool at the end of it. His eyes widened in fear. It was a lot of water. Several excuses went through his mind as he tried to get out of not only going on this ride, but out of this part of the park. Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his.

"Are you ok?" Naruto asked. Sasuke didn't know why, but something about Naruto's eyes had a calming effect on him. He simply nodded. Naruto smiled. "Good. Come with Kohaku and I." Sasuke let Naruto pull him to the line of the water slide. They climbed up over five hundred steps; Shukaku and Kurama had counted them out loud until Matatabi started getting afraid of being up so high. Shukaku pulled her into his arms and told her that everything would be ok. He gulped when he got to the top. Shukaku glanced at Naruto, then back at the slide. Not wanting to admit that he too had a fear of heights, Shukaku stepped forward. Sasuke watched Shukaku, get in first with Matatabi in his arms. Kurama got in last, her legs going around Shukaku.

"Next!" The man operating the slide said. That's when Sasuke saw that there were actually two slides. They were set up to look like one, but there was a wall that separated them. Now Sasuke understood why the ride was called Racing Slides. Naruto picked up Kohaku and got on first. Sasuke took one last look at the sky before convincing himself that he could do this. He got down behind Naruto. "Ready?" Sasuke and Shukaku honestly wanted to say no, but they stayed silent. The next thing they knew, they were racing down the slide.

Naruto and Kohaku as well as Kurama and Matatabi screamed in happiness as they went. Shukaku's eyes flew open as he too began to laugh. Since he no longer could tell how high he was up, he was no longer afraid. Sasuke on the other hand was terrified. He held the support rope on the sides of the raft. His eye were wide as he continued down, too afraid to close his eyes. As it sped up, he began to shake. Unknowingly, his legs hit Naruto's sides and the blood glanced backwards at him. Sasuke was too focused on not falling to see the concerned look on Naruto's face. Hearing the splash ahead, Naruto moved backwards, grabbing one of Sasuke's hands and wrapping the pale arm around himself. The surprise at Naruto's action caused Sasuke to hug Naruto, just as the raft flew into the pool. Naruto made sure that Sasuke was still holding on to him when they floated back up. Shukaku bragged about getting to the pool first while Naruto said he only won since he got a head start. Only Kurama seemed to notice that Sasuke still had an arm around Naruto as the three got off the ride. Two staff members grabbed the rafts and sent them back up to the top.

"Again Nawu?" Kohaku asked.

"Why don't we go on a different ride first?" Naruto asked. "Maybe we can come back to this one later. You do want to go on all of the rides, right?"

Kohaku seemed to think about it for only a second. "Ok!" He made grab-hands and Naruto picked up the happy boy. Matatabi did the same to Shukaku, who easily picked up his sister. Kurama glanced at Sasuke who had stopped shaking. She smiled. Naruto was going to help Sasuke get over his fear.

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It became obvious to Kurama and Shukaku that Naruto was trying to keep Sasuke calm by going on all of the water rides with him. The only time Sasuke and Naruto didn't go on the same ride together was when they go to a ride that neither Matatabi nor Kohaku could ride yet despite their guardian/parent being with them. Not wanting to forced Shukaku, Naruto, and Kurama to ignore the ride, Sasuke offered to wait with Kohaku and Matatabi. Kurama and Naruto quickly agreed while Shukaku seemed a bit hesitant to leave Matatabi behind. Naruto pointed to a ride that was only for kids which got Kohaku and Matatabi excited. Shukaku caved in and let Sasuke take the kids there while the others got on the ride. Sasuke was glad for the reprieve.

As time went on, it began to get dark. The water park was almost closed, but there was still one ride that the group, minus Sasuke, wanted to go on: the Water Coaster. It was the one roller coaster that Sasuke didn't want to go on just because the word water was in the name of the ride. It also didn't help that he'd have to sit next to Kurama. He gulped at the ride as he neared the front of the line. Naruto managed to get the first seat on the ride, while Shukaku wanted the back. Kurama couldn't make up her mind if she wanted to be in the back or the front. Her final decision came down to Sasuke's preference of staying close to Naruto. They'd be right behind them. Taking their seats, Sasuke made sure that not only was he safe, but that Naruto and Kohaku were secure as well. He gave one of the ride attendants a glare saying that if either of them got hurt, he'd have to find somewhere else to work.

The ride went a lot smoother than Sasuke thought. Most of it was a normal roller coaster. There were only small parts of it where it went into the water, but they were going so fast, that they weren't in the water for very long. The last part of the ride pissed him off though as he got sprayed in the face with what he'd sware was a gallon of water. Everyone laughed, though Sasuke only chuckled quietly, as they headed to look at their pictures. Quite pleased with how they came out, Sasuke bought the ones of himself and Kurama as well as the one of Naruto and Kohaku. One look at Shukaku caused him to buy a copy of their picture too.

The group exited the water park and continued to the large sitting area that was surrounded by several food stalls. Sasuke let Kurama pick something out for him. Once they were fed, they went around to the game stalls. Sasuke gave each of them a handful of money. Shukaku and Naruto tried to give the money back saying that it was too much, but Sasuke just 'hn'd' and walked over to a shooting game. Kurama smiled. Getting a chance to see Sasuke act like a kid was a rarity. The man was usually standoffish since he was forced to grow up so fast. Seeing him like this would have made Itachi happy.

A loud yell of happiness got Kurama out of her dream-like state. She looked over to see Sasuke handing Kohaku a giant wolf. Kurama walked forward to see how he had done it and her eyes widened. Sasuke had shot the same spot on ten different plates. The stall keeper stood looking at the plates in surprise even after he somehow managed to give Sasuke the wolf he had been shooting for. Kurama saw the red in Sasuke's eyes and nodded. Itachi had explained to her that when an Uchiha got serious over something they wanted their eyes got a strange red tint them. Sasuke must have wanted to make his son happy and no plate was getting in the way of that.

Kurama continued walking only to find Shukaku and Matatabi fishing for rubber ducks. There were several prizes at their feet. It was obvious that they were trying to win a stuffed cat. There was even a blue one, which was Matatabi's favorite color. Leaving them to it, Kurama made her way past several stalls until she found Naruto. He was more than halfway up the Ladder Climb. Kurama silently cheered him on. A few seconds later, just as he was about to ring the bell, his foot slipped, causing his body to fall. His fingers brushed against the bell, making a small noise. It was enough. The bell rang and the guy watching over the game helped Naruto to his feet. He smiled as he offered Naruto a prize. Naruto hesitated before picking a large fox plush.

Naruto looked up at the sound of clapping. Several people stood around Kurama watching Naruto. They were amazed at seeing Naruto win at the Ladder Climb. Some even decided to give it a try. Naruto smiled and walked over to Kurama. "Here." He held the fox out towards Kurama. Kurama gave Naruto a questioning look. "I know that you planned it. You must have noticed the distance between Sasuke-san and I and wanted to help. I'm thankful for you've done. It isn't much, but please accept the fox."

Kurama glanced at fox before giving it a squeeze. Her face brightened. "It was my pleasure. And I did notice the distance between you two. But it seems to have shortened, so my work wasn't for not."

"I just want to know why you helped us," Naruto said.

"Because I know what neither of you can say," Kurama said. "At least not yet. And I want you two to be happy."

Naruto smiled and hugged Kurama. "Promise me something." He looked up at her. "Promise me that you will find happiness as well."

Kurama smiled sadly. "I already have."

"That's…"

"Hey!" Shukaku called. "Looks like we aren't the only ones who got a big one." He had a bag full of small prizes swung over his shoulder. Matatabi was carefully walking while holding the giant blue cat. It was slightly bigger than her and Naruto struggled not to laugh.

"Nawu!" Kohaku called. The group turned to see Kohaku running towards them. Sasuke was behind him, holding the wolf he'd won. "I won a wolf!"

"Really?" Naruto asked, knowing that it was really Sasuke that had won it. He lifted Kohaku up. "You're amazing Ko-chan!" Kohaku blushed before he struggled to get out of Naruto's hold. Naruto placed him back down and the boy looked down at his feet, moving side to side in embarrassment. It was cute.

"Shu, hold?" Matatabi asked. She held up the cat. Shukaku carefully grabbed it. Matatabi turned and ran to Kohaku. She grabbed his hands. "Let's play?"

Kohaku smiled. "Sure!" He turned to Naruto. "Nawu?"

"Let's go!" The three of them headed towards a Water Gun Game.

"Thanks for inviting us," Shukaku said. Sasuke hn'd before following after his son. Shukaku turned towards Kurama. "He's a strange man."

"He's an Uchiha," Kurama said. "All of them are like that."

"Sai isn't," Shukaku said, remembering said man.

"True," Kurama said. "He's the only outlier in the family."

"I hope Kohaku doesn't become like Sasuke," Shukaku said.

"He won't," Kurama said. "He has Naruto." She watched as a race started between Naruto and Sasuke, both wanting to win for Kohaku. She shook her head at their childish behavior.

"He loves him," Shukaku said.

"Eh?" Kurama asked. Shukaku just grinned before joining the others. Kurama looked at the brunet. Just which of the three had Shukaku been talking about?

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A file landed on the man's desk. He looked up at the one standing before him. The man had black hair and strange yellowish green eyes. In all honesty, he was creepy. "You can't turn me down."

The man shifted in his seat before opening the file. His eyes widened. "What are you planning?"

The creepy man smiled. "You'll see."


	17. Chapter 17

"Class, as you know, today is my last day," the English teacher, Harumi said. She always had people call her by her first name as a sign of trust. "I start my maternity leave tomorrow." She happily put her hand on her stomach. "As such, I would like to introduce the one taking over for me." She turned towards her office door. A man with black hair and yellowish green eyes stepped into the classroom. His eyes met Naruto's and the boy's eyes widened.

The man smirked. "Hello, my name is Orochimaru. I love literature especially those related to science. I heard that you've been reading books that involve other subjects and that science is your next one. I'll me more than happy to help anyone understand the two subjects." He turned to Harumi. "Don't worry, your students shall grow well in my hands."

"That's good to know," Harumi said, not really liking this man. "I shall be back for your last month of this class." She turned back to Orochimaru. "Please take a seat. I'll continue the lesson from where we left off. Once again Orochimaru looked at Naruto. He licked his lips before sitting at Harumi's desk. Naruto shook throughout the class, neither Shukaku nor Gaara understanding why.

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"Are you ok?" Shukaku asked. Naruto, Gaara, and Shukaku were outside for lunch, not wanting anyone to overhear their conversation. Naruto shook his head. Orochimaru had given him one final look before he'd been pulled out of the classroom by Gaara.

"How do you know Orochimaru?" Gaara asked.

"He…" Naruto struggled with his words. "He was in Sound." Shukaku suddenly got a look of understanding. Gaara however, had no idea what that meant. Seeing Gaara's confusion, Naruto began to tell him about his life in Sound. Less than have way through the story, Gaara looked ready to kill someone. Shukaku thought about letting the red-head do just that, but decided he didn't want Gaara to go to Sound.

"That bastard!" Gaara said, still shaking from anger. "How could someone like that become a teacher?"

"Money," Naruto said. "Or blackmail."

"The real question isn't how but why," Shukaku said. "Why would he come here?" He glanced at Naruto. "I think we should tell Sasuke-san about this."

Naruto looked up at that. "W-we can't! I don't want to trouble him."

Gaara suddenly got down on his knees, lifting Naruto's chin up. "He'd want to know." Naruto hesitated before nodding. Shukaku squeezed his shoulder letting Naruto know that he wasn't alone. Naruto smiled. He was glad to have such good friends.

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Naruto and Shukaku stood in front of Sasuke and Kurama in Sasuke's office. Kurama had forced her way into the office upon seeing the looks on Naruto's and Shukaku's faces. When the three of them walked into his office, Sasuke looked confused. His eyes took in the three as it became clear that something was wrong. Sasuke closed the file he'd been reading and clear of his desk. He waited silently as Naruto and Shukaku finally sat down and Kurama parked her butt on the left side of Sasuke's desk. The raven didn't say anything, too focused on Naruto.

"There is something you need to know," Shukaku began. Shukaku and Naruto rushed through the story of Orochimaru. It soon became clear to Shukaku and Sasuke that Kurama didn't know about Naruto's time in Sound. Kurama had to grib her clothes tightly to stop herself from interrupting them by jumping off the desk and yelling.

Once they were done, the look on Sasuke's face was terrifying. It was clear that he was beyond pissed. Silently, he stood up, walked over to a filing cabinet and pulled out a file. He placed it onto his desk before opening it. Naruto and Shukaku couldn't see the file, but Kurama could. Her eyes were wide. Sasuke pulled out his phone and dialed the first number on the front page.

A gruff voice come on the phone, loud enough that everyone could hear. "What do you want, Uchiha?"

"I need a favor," Sasuke said.

"Oh?" the voice asked. "And what can I do for you?"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto and Shukaku. "I need you to come here. It isn't something I'd like to discuss over the phone."

"Alright," the voice said. "But I'm bringing Deidara."

"Fine, Kisame," Sasuke said before hanging up. He knew they'd be here soon. He pressed a button on the landline.

"Yes, Master?" the maid said answering the call.

"Get food reading for an extra two people," Sasuke said.

"Are Tenji-san and Kaguya-san coming back today?" the maid asked.

"No," Sasuke said. "It's Kisame and Deidara."

"Oh!" the maid said. "Alright, we'll get started immediately." The sound of the door ringing went off through the phone. "Where should I send them?"

"Itachi's office," Sasuke said. The maid gasped through the phone at what Sasuke had said. Sasuke hung up before standing up. Naruto, Shukaku, and Kurama followed Sasuke, none of them wanting to say a word. They stopped at Kohaku's room. Sasuke peeked in to make sure his son was ok. Kohaku was too busy playing with Matatabi to notice his father. Sasuke nodded before continuing down the hall. At the end was the one room in the house that was almost always locked. Sasuke pulled a key from around his neck and opened the door. Turning on the light, Sasuke looked around. Tsunade had cleaned the room just a few hours before. She was the only one with a key besides Sasuke.

Naruto, Shukaku, and Kurama kept their amazement of the room to themselves as they followed Sasuke into what looked like a living room. What looked like a room divider stood at the back of the room. Naruto wondered if that was where Itachi use to sleep. Sasuke took a seat on one of the couches, facing one that would fit two people. It was clear that Kisame and Deidara would be sitting there. Naruto took the spot of Sasuke's right while Kurama slid into the spot on his left. Shukaku took the lone chair next to Naruto. The four of them only waited a few seconds before Tsunade, Kisame, and Deidara stepped into the room. Tsunade had seven drinks made up, making it clear that she was going to stay here. She set the drinks down before going back to lock the door. She knew that Sasuke didn't want anyone interrupting them. She took the chair next to Kurama. Kisame and Deidara took their seats silently. Naruto could tell right away which was which. Deidara looked ready to bounce out of his shoes while Kisame looked like a stern businessman.

"So?" Kisame asked. Sasuke handed Kisame a note. The man grinned showing of his shark-like teeth. "I see." He handed the note to Deidara who read it with a smile on his face. He tucked the note into one of his pockets for safe keeping. "I think the best one to watch over them would be Sasori. He's more likely to fit in."

"What about me?" Deidara pouted.

"I'm assuming you want someone to watch over your son as well?" Kisame asked, ignoring Deidara. Sasuke nodded. "Konan will do that. As for the rest, we need to know everything." His eyes turned to Naruto and Shukaku. Knowing that was their cue to talk, the two explained the situation, avoiding the more explicit details. Once they were done, Sasuke gave Tsunade a look that told her to get Naruto and Shukaku out of the room.

"I bet Kohaku-kun and Matatabi-chan are wondering where you two are," Tsunade said. "Shall we go check on them." Naruto and Shukaku glanced at each other before quickly getting to their feet. Tsunade looked the door behind them before they headed towards Kohaku's room.

"I'm guessing you don't want them to see the dark side of your plans?" Kisame asked. Sasuke said nothing. Kisame rolled his eyes knowing that Sasuke was just like Itachi. "We need to know when to act and how far we can go."

"My father once told me that if I come across an enemy to the Uchiha family that I should eliminate them," Sasuke said.

Kisame grinned. "Understood." He stood up. "Any threats to Naruto or Hokaku will be taken out. I'll let you know when we step in." He headed for the door. Deidara pouted before standing up mumbling that it wasn't fair and that he wanted to have some fun too.

"What about payment?" Sasuke asked.

"Don't worry about it," Kisame said. "Afterall, we still owe Itachi one." Without another word, he unlocked the door and left with Deidara. Sasuke didn't bother to move to relock the door.

"What are you thinking?" Kurama asked.

"I'm going to protect this family," Sasuke said. "Even if I have to dirty my hands."

"And what will Naruto think when he finds out what you're planning?" Kurama asked.

Sasuke glanced at Kurama as thoughts of Naruto went through his mind. The last thing he saw was Naruto shaking in fear with tears in his eyes. He clenched his fists. "It doesn't matter what he thinks of me. As long as he is ok, I'm fine with the outcome." He stood up and left the room.

Kurama looked after her brother-in-law as he took a step into the darkness of the world. She had heard that Uchihas were like moths to a flame when it came to the darkness that their love tended to create. She wonder briefly if Itachi was the same. Nodding to herself, Kurama realized that yes, it Kurama had been in Naruto's place, Itachi would have welcomed the darkness if it meant Kurama would be safe. Love was a powerful thing after all, and it changes people for better or for worse.

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"Orochimaru-sama, what are you planning?" a man with silver hair asked.

Orochimaru smirked. "I'm going to take him." He licked his lips. "He has gotten more beautiful since that time the other brat got in the way." Orochimaru pictured the way Naruto shivered in fear every time their eyes had met during Harumi's lecture. He couldn't help but smile evilly as he thought about making Naruto his. Dani had been a good replacement for Orochimaru's desires. Sadly, one of the guards had gotten in his way from having Naruto as well. After Dani's death, Naruto had been moved away from Orochimaru and security had risen in the male department of Sound. Even after the death of said guard, Orochimaru could not get to Naruto. Fear of ending up like those six that Orochimaru had secretly been behind, had caused the men to cool down. Orochimaru knew that even if some of them still feared him, death was by far the greater fear. Orochimaru had tortured a few of the men that he turned him down, but they refused to even go near the blond. The last male to come to sound that had gotten close to Naruto had been a baby. After doing some research, Orochimaru found out that the baby had been thrown in there by Sasuke Uchiha. It baffled the man even more when Sasuke had come to pick up the baby, taking Naruto with him. Orochimaru had been forced to watch as an outsider took away the last chance he had at getting what he wanted.

Then again, Orochimaru now had plenty of chanced to have the blond. He had used money and connections to get out of Sound. From there, it had taken his three years, three long and tiresome years, to find a way to get close to the boy. Naruto never left the house without someone else being with him. That didn't give Orochimaru the opportunity to kidnap him. He thought about just killing the driver and taking Naruto, but then Kohaku would see him. Orochimaru wasn't afraid to be seen by the brat, but he knew that messing with the Uchiha family was something only mad men did. Sure he was a bit crazy, but he wasn't stupid.

The opportunity finally came when Naruto enrolled into high school. The principle was a man that could easily be bribed. Of course, blackmailing the man had also helped. Now that he was Naruto's teacher, he could spend as much time as he pleased with the boy. Orochimaru glanced at the man in front of him. He'd have Kabuto be his assistant so he could have him at his side. Kabuto would be useful in keeping the pests away. Suddenly, laughter filled the dark room.


	18. Chapter 18

"It seems you have something you'd like to talk about," Kakashi said.

"Orochimaru is alive," Naruto said. "And he's become my english teacher."

"And who is this Orochimaru?" Kakashi asked.

"He use to hang out with the six men that… killed Dani," Naruto said. "He was always behind them and I saw the way he looked at me. He was there the night that Dani died."

"Then that guard didn't kill all of them," Kakashi said.

"I can't say how I know it, but I know that Orochimaru was apart of what happened to Dani," Naruto said. "We ran into each other several times while we were in Sound. He had a man with silver hair by his side." Naruto blushed slightly as a disgusted looked took over his face. "They used each other to... satisfy their desires."

Kakashi nodded. "And Orochimaru did something to you?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not really. He asked me to join them a few times. We got to shower once a week and Orochimaru never cared who watched him got at it with Kabuto. No one went against him, not even the leader of the six who killed Dani. I know that they raped several of the other men, but they never touched me that way. I think it was because despite everything, Orochimaru didn't want to… have sex with a kid."

"And Dani?" Kakashi asked. "Do you think Orochimaru raped him?"

Naruto shrugged. "Dani was older than me and may be was past the age that Orochimaru thought was ok to… you know." Kakashi nodded. "I'm afraid. I'm afraid that Orochimaru might do something to Kohaku or Kurama or Sasuke-san or my friends or…"

Kakashi held up a hand. "Sasuke and Kurama would never let anything happen to you, your friends, Kohaku or themselves. They have the power to protect what's theirs." Kakashi knew that Sasuke had hired a bodyguard for Naruto and he could guess that Kohaku had one as well. "Now, on a happier note, are you looking forward to your birthday? It is in week."

Naruto smiled. "Yeah. Kurama insisted that we have a big party. She already sent out invitations to Sakura-chan and the others. I heard that she thought about inviting my entire school, but Sasuke-san made her cut the list down to one page." He laughed. "So she tried to make the font really small to fit as many people as possible. Sasuke-san had to rip the list out of Kurama's hands to make it himself. It was funny to see them fight over who to and not to invite to the party. Kohaku had interrupted them, asking to be on the list. It was so cute that Kurama tossed the list into the trash and wrote in big letters Kohaku's name at the top of the new list. She even gave him an invitation. Oh! That reminds me." He grabbed his bag and went threw it, pulling out an envelope. He handed it to Kakashi. "I didn't know if it was appropriate to invite you, but Sasuke-san said it would be fine. He made the invitation."

Kakashi opened the envelope and pulled out a white and blue card. The letters with gold making it look very expensive. Inside was a small letter that Kakashi managed to catch before it slipped out. He opened it to read a note written by Sasuke. He chuckled as it basically threatened Kakashi into coming to Naruto's party. "Is it alright if I bring someone with me?"

"Sure," Naruto said. "Sasuke-san said you'd bring someone." Kakashi nodded. Sasuke was one of the few people who knew about Iruka. Being gay wasn't something Kakashi advertised as not everyone was accepting of such preferences. He had lost a friend to the haters and he wasn't ready to lose Iruka. The man was too gentle to enter the dark world of hatred. "What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing," Kakashi said as he put the envelope down. "There is more you'd like to tell me."

"I invited Sakura to the party," Naruto said. "But Kurama didn't seem to like that. I don't know why Kurama doesn't like Sakura."

"Women are the hardest creatures to understand," Kakashi said. "Then again, to them, we men are just as hard to understand." Naruto nodded. "The best thing to do is just watch them interact. It wouldn't be good to mettle in their relationship. Some people just won't get along." Naruto smiled. "Now then, I believe our time is up. I'll see you in a few days."

Naruto stood up. "Thank you Kakashi-san! See you at my party!" He waved at him as he left the room. Tenten told him to have a good day. Naruto had already given her an invitation. Naruto left the building bumping into Yuto. "Sorry." Yuto said nothing, only nodding and walking towards Kakashi's office. Naruto and Yuto had only met a few times, with Yuto never saying a word. Sometimes Naruto wondered if he'd ever hear Yuto's voice.

"Done?" A red-haired man stood in the same uniform Naruto wore. Despite his looks, he was over ten years older than Naruto. It amazed Naruto to find out Sasori's true age.

"Yeah," Naruto said. Sasori nodded, sending a text, most likely to the driver. The driver pulled up a few seconds later, letting them into the back seat. "Where's Shukaku?"

"He already went to pick up Matatabi-chan and Kohaku-kun," the driver said. "I dropped them off at the house."

"Ok," Naruto said. He glanced out the window. Sasori's presence made him uncomfortable despite knowing that he was his bodyguard. May be Deidara would have been better after all.

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The backyard was filled with tables, red and orange. Sasuke didn't really like the two bright colors, but it was Naruto's birthday, so he kept silent. Kurama had planned almost the entire thing. She even got Gaara and Shukaku to get Naruto out of the house while the preparations finally came together. Kohaku and Matatabi had gone with them so they wouldn't be in the way. Kakashi and Iruka had arrived early since Iruka wanted to help. It was a good thing too, since if Kakashi had his way, they would have been late. Iruka had made Naruto's birthday cake. Sai managed to get back the night before and he brought a few gallons of ice cream along with several fixings to make sundays.

The maids made food fit for more than fifty people. The food had to made ahead of time since Naruto wanted all of the workers in the mansion to join them. Three tables were set up in the shape of a U, with the biggest table being placed at the end, meeting the ends of the other two tables. Another table that sat behind the one filled with food, held the presents. Against Naruto's wish, there were already a few dozen gifts on it. Everyone had asked him what he had wanted and Naruto had told them the he simply wanted to spend the day with them. Naruto felt so blessed to have friends that anything more would be too much. He even yelled at Sasuke to return the gaming system he had bought. Kurama told Sasuke it was because he was stupid enough to ask Naruto if he liked it and if he wanted more to go with it. Sasuke returned the system only to get a better one with even more games. He made sure to hide them this time so that Naruto wouldn't get mad.

Kurama bought Naruto some new clothes, including a pair of boots, a jacket, three shirts, four pairs of pants (one being leather and the other three being jeans), two suits, and an orange sweatshirt. She threw in a giftcard to the store she bought everything from and made sure to "misplace" the receipts. Sasuke would never admit that he had been scared watching her throw them into the fireplace chanting: "burn to ashes" with an evil laugh. At least now he understood why Kurama was so perfect for Itachi.

Sai had been more laid back about his gift. He got a box of chocolates and a box of cookies. With them was a card stating them when Naruto was ready, Sai would happily plan his wedding, for a small fee.

The rest of the gifts weren't nearly as expensive as Sasuke, Kurama, and Sai's (the chocolate alone cost the same price as four of the games Sasuke had gotten Naruto, and the cookies were even more expensive). Kakashi and Iruka bought a simple board game that even Kohaku and Matatabi could play. Iruka had heard from Amaru that Naruto wanted to be a preschool teacher. Amaru gave her gift to Iruka since she couldn't make it. It was a book on caregiving. Shukaku and Matatabi's gift was phone charm. Matatabi picked it out when they went shopping. Shukaku also bought the ninja movie Naruto really liked. Kohaku had wanted to get his own gift for Naruto so Sasuke brought him to the mall where he picked out a watch. Sasuke just handed the store owner his credit card, not caring how much it was. Tsunade and the other maids put some money together and bought a necklace.

Before long, more guests came, carefully placing their gifts on the table. Most of them felt out of place in the large backyard of the Uchiha Mansion. Sakura and her friends quickly took their seats and began chatting amongst themselves. Sasuke's coworkers, the ones he deemed good enough to be his friends, found the man and began to talk. Kurama yelled at them with Iruka by her side telling them that this was no place to talk about work! They had then took their seats and started talking about their personal lives. Iruka and Kakashi joined them.

"He's back!" a maid said. Everyone who hadn't been seated took their seats, leaving only that maid standing. She disappeared into the house only to reappear with Shukaku, Matatabi, Kohaku, and Naruto behind her. Everyone yelled surprise and Naruto's eyes widened. He looked around surprised how everything was set up. He took notice of the large pile of gifts, but said nothing knowing that no matter what he said, he wouldn't win. Seeing that everyone else was already sitting, Naruto quickly sat down next to Kohaku and Kurama.

"Now that everyone is here," Kurama said. "Let's start!" She raised her glass. "Happy Birthday!"

"Happy Birthday!" Everyone yelled. Naruto couldn't help but blush. The maid closest to the food began to pass the bowels and plates around. The maid at the other end of the U would put them back once everyone that wanted whatever it held had some. Soon, several different conversations were going on at once. Naruto wanted to talk to everyone, but decided to wait until they were done eating. Naruto and Iruka instantly got along, both discussing the path of becoming a preschool teacher. Iruka even offered an internship at his school. Naruto happily accepted since he also got along with Amaru. The relationship between Kakashi and Iruka became pretty obvious when Iruka slapped him for Kakashi's wandering hand. Naruto didn't care that the two were gay, as he was never one to judge. Love was love after all.

Once everyone had their fill, Naruto was brought to the table of gifts by Matatabi and Kohaku. With their help, everything was opened. Some maids took the bigger gifts to Naruto's room to play with later. Naruto hugged each person after he opened their gifts. Sasuke had frozen when Naruto's arms wrapped around him. He hesitantly hugged him back. When Naruto hugged Sai, Kohaku and Sasuke had to separate them. "Nawu's mine!" Kohaku had yelled, causing Naruto to blush and Sai to put up his hands in surrender. Kohaku had mastered Sasuke's glare, something Sasuke would have to tell his son he was proud of later. After that, Kohaku made sure that no one hugged Naruto for too long. Only Shukaku had dared to but Matatabi put him in his place.

The party continued as teams were formed to play various games. Matatabi and Kohaku had pulled Naruto away from the others. They agreed to share him with each other, saying that a threesome was better than a twosome. Naruto blushed as he asked where they'd heard that. Both pointed at Sai. Sai had never been more afraid for his life when he received the glares of Sasuke, Shukaku, and Naruto. Only Kurama's sudden laugh was able to stop them from attacking the raven. Sai left out a sigh of relief before looking down to make sure he hadn't peed himself. He then joined Kurama's team.

Eight teams of five were formed as the most intense game of Minute-to-Win-It ever began. Each member of the eight teams took turns as they competed against each other to complete a task. The first one to complete the task got a point for their team. Some tasks were harder than others. After fifty different rounds, Naruto's team was leading with fifteen points with Kurama's team behind them with thirteen points. The team of maids were in third with twelve points. Kakashi's team and Neji's team didn't do so well with only five points each. What really hurt Neji's pride was the fact that he lost to Kohaku not once, but twice. He also lost to Matatabi once, but then again, no one could have beaten Matatabi in that round. With a shout of ice cream from Kohaku, the game came to an end. Sasuke had to admit that Tsunade had excellent timing. She had brought the ice cream out just as Kurama was about to open her mouth to start another round. If Kurama had her way, the game would have continued until her team won. But with the arrival of ice cream, Kurama conceded defeat.

Everyone enjoyed their ice cream, especially Kohaku. Naruto laughed as he helped clean his face. A few seconds later, Matatabi came up to naruto with some chocolate smudged on her face. Shukaku frowned. Normally Matatabi ate ice cream without making a mess. He glanced at Naruto. He really hoped his sister didn't have a crush on the blond. Shukaku glanced at Sasuke who had a frown on his face. He really really hoped Matatabi didn't have a crush on Naruto. He then glanced at Kohaku and added his name to the list of people Matatabi couldn't date.

"Time for wine!" Yumi called. She pulled out the bottle she had brought with her. Kurama helped her pour some glasses. She then handed them out. Just as Naruto reached for one, Iruka grabbed it.

"You just turned eighteen," Iruka said. "Not old enough to drink." Naruto pouted, but agreed that Iruka was right.

"Don't worry Naruto," Yumi whispered. "I'll sneak you some later." Naruto just shook his head as the girl moved on to Sek-kun who was also underage. Iruka did the same thing before yelling at Yumi to stop giving alcohol to underaged people. Yumi sighed before handed the tray to Iruka letting him hand out the rest. She took one for herself and set quietly next to Sek-kun who tried to brighten her up.

Kurama then handed juice to those who couldn't have the wine. "Cheers!" She yelled before taking a sip. Everyone copied her with their own drink.

As time went on, the party died down. Sakura and her friends left a few minutes after Sasuke's coworkers. Iruka and Kakashi stayed a half hour longer, but Iruka was dragged away by the perverted psychologist. Tsunade and the maids began to clean things up as Naruto said goodbye to Gaara and his siblings. Shukaku brought Matatabi and Kohaku into the house for a dinner that was almost ready. Sai joined them soon after with Sasuke behind him, making sure the other didn't say a word. Kurama watched as Naruto hugged Gaara again. The boy boy had given the blonde a few tickets to see the sequel to that ninja movie Shukaku bought. It was obvious that the three of them would be going together.

Dinner went by quickly with Matatabi and Kohaku nearly falling asleep. Naruto put Kohaku to bed before helping Shukaku put Matatabi to bed. The two boys came down to see Kurama, Sasuke, and Sai sitting in the living room. Despite it not being very cold, a fire was blazing in the fireplace. The three were drinking a different wine than the one Yumi had brought.

"Thank you," Naruto began. "Today has been the second best day of my life!"

"What's the first?" Shukaku asked.

Naruto blushed. "The day Sasuke took me out of Sound," he mumbled. Shukaku gave the blond a knowing look before he took a seat next to Kurama. The red-head poured him a glass of wine. Naruto took a seat on the other side of Kurama. A maid handed him a wine glass filled with Orange soda. He sighed in content as the fire continued to steal the attention of the four in the room.


	19. Chapter 19

Kabuto moved through the halls, avoiding the students. He honestly didn't understand why Orochimaru was going so far for one kid. Yes, Naruto was beautiful and the last few years treated him right, but he wasn't needed. Kabuto hated to admit that he was jealous. He had been with Orochimaru even before Naruto was born. He'd gone to Sound to stay with Orochimaru instead of running. He knew the Orochimaru liked younger men, but even he had a limit to how young they could be. Orochimaru always waited until they were at least sixteen. And even then, he'd make sure that they were a little willing, even if blackmail was involved. There were only two that didn't fit this, Dani and Naruto. With Dani, Orochimaru didn't touch him, he only watched. He did make Kabuto do it though. He didn't like it, but since Orochimaru wanted him to, he did it. After they were done with Dani, Orochimaru showed Kabuto how much he had enjoyed watching.

Kabuto's thoughts were broken when his body collided with another's. "Sorry," the redhead said. Kabuto looked after the boy as he walked down the hall. He looked familiar, but Kabuto just couldn't place him. Deciding to ignore that feeling, Kabuto stepped up to the classroom he knew Orochimaru was in. He glanced inside and saw their target. He was sitting next to a boy with brown hair. Kabuto knew him as Shukaku, one of Naruto's best friends and someone that Naruto lived with. The seat on the other side of Naruto was empty. "Excuse me," a voice said. Kabuto turned to see the same redhead from before. That's when it hit him. This was Gaara. Kabuto moved to the side to let Gaara into the classroom. It allowed Kabuto to hear Orochimaru's voice. The man was getting ready to introduce him. Kabuto fixed his tie before stepping into the room.

"...Kabuto," Orochimaru said, motioning to him. He had a smile on his face. Kabuto bowed, his eyes going right to Naruto. Blue eyes were wide as they stared at Kabuto. Kabuto couldn't help but smirk. It was clear that Naruto was scared.

"Hello," Kabuto said, bowing slightly, his eyes still on Naruto. "My name is Kabuto Yakushi." He pushed his glasses backwards with a finger. "As I'm sure Orochimaru-sensei said, I'm his assistant. If there is anything you need help on, feel free to ask me. I'm open for tutoring as well." He smiled.

"Now then," Orochimaru said. "I hope you've read the last three chapters in…" the fire alarm suddenly went off. Orochimaru frowned. "Alright class, single file now. Kabuto, please lead them outside. I'll make sure everyone follows." Kabuto nodded, walking to the door. Everyone lined up behind Kabuto, Shukaku and Gaara making sure that Naruto stood between them. Naruto was still shaking from Kabuto's arrival. Once all of the students were out of the classroom, Orochimaru let the door close behind himself. He wondered why he hadn't been informed of a drill. He found his class under a tree across from the school building.

"It seems a small fire started in the chem lab," a teacher said. "Honestly, this is the third one this year."

Orochimaru rolled his eyes at that. Of course it had to be that stupid chem teacher that caused his plans to be ruined. Deidara seemed to be too stupid for such a job. It surprised everyone that he was even hired in the first place. Still, after what happened to the last chem teacher, it wasn't surprising that no one wanted the job. Orochimaru shook his head as he walked over to his class. He counted the students, making sure none of them had managed to slip away.

"Ow!" a voice Orochimaru hated said. "I said I was sorry!"

"You need to be more careful!" a female teacher yelled. Sometimes, Orochimaru believed that Anko was even more crazy than Deidara. "What if someone got hurt?"

"She's right you know," a male teacher said. Ibiki was a strange one. He was very secretive, but he managed to get others to spill their guts to him. It made him a good counselor. Orochimaru found him familiar, but he couldn't understand why. He'd never seen Ibiki before. He'd shown Ibiki's picture to Kabuto, but Kabuto had no idea who he was.

"I just did what the book said to do!" Deidara yelled. "Honestly, I didn't realize it would start a fire. Besides, safety is very important." He put his hands on his hips, a pout on his face. "We just need better funding for the lab."

"Sure," Anko said.

"Excuse me!" the principle said, gaining everyone's attention. "I've gotten news that the danger has passed. It is safe to return to your classrooms." He looked at his watch. "You have about ten minutes left of you class, so please quickly and carefully make your way back inside." Everyone started heading back inside. On the way to his classroom, Orochimaru kept going through various plans to get Naruto to stay behind.

He stood before his students, waiting until they sat down. He glanced at the clock and frowned. There was only five minutes left. "Since we ran out of time and were unable to take today's quiz, you'll have to take it tomorrow. Anyone that gets a D or below will have to stay after class." He heard a few groans. "You're lucky that you're getting an extra day. Don't waste it!" The bell rang. "And Uzumaki-san, we need to discuss something about your last quiz, so stay behind."

Naruto's eyes widened. Shukaku leaned into him. "Don't worry," he whispered. "Gaara and I will be outside. And don't forget who else is watching." Naruto nodded at this, a smile appearing on his face. He watched his friends leave the room, knowing that all he had to do was to call out to them if it came to that.

"Now then," Orochimaru said. He walked over to Naruto's desk and placed his quiz on the table. "Can you explain to me why your answers are similar to your friends'?" He placed Shukaku and Gaara's quizzes on the table. Naruto glanced at them. He had to admit that some of his answered almost matched theirs.

"We discussed the chapters assigned together," Naruto said. "Kind of like reviewing them."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "And how do I know you aren't cheated off of them?"

"I'd never do that!" Naruto yelled. Orochimaru smirked. Seeing the fire in Naruto's eyes turned him on. He then watched as the flames disappeared once their eyes met. It was something Orochimaru was glad he had power over.

"I'm not sure I believe that," Orochimaru said. "Maybe I'll have you take tomorrow's quiz now, just to make sure you can't cheat."

Naruto gulped. "I-if that's what y-you want Orochimaru-sensei." Orochimaru smirked. He walked back to his desk and pulled out the quiz. He placed it on Naruto's desk.

"Once you are down, I'll correct it," Orochimaru said. "And if you get lower than a C, you'll have to re-read the chapters, and take it again."

"T-that's…" Naruto began.

"Understood?" Orochimaru asked. Naruto hesitated before nodding. He grabbed his pen and began to answer the first question. "You know, I'm surprised you managed to get into this school. The perks of being taken in by Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto twitched, but he continued to focus on the paper in front of him. "It must be nice. To get anything you could ever want from such a powerful man. I do have to wonder what he gets in turn." Naruto bit his lip as his hands began to shake. Orochimaru's grin widened. He began to walk around Naruto. "I bet he's good in bed." Orochimaru put his hands on the table, the back of Naruto's chair keeping him from touching the blond. "Tell me. Does it feel good?" Naruto shivered. His pen fell from his fingers. He was unable to continue writing. Orochimaru pulled back. "Done already? Let's see." He pulled the paper off of the desk. "You didn't answer the last three questions. I'm afraid you'll have to stay here a bit longer."

"Why?" Naruto whispered.

"What?" Orochimaru asked.

"Why are you doing this?" Naruto looked up at Orochimaru, tears in his eyes. "What have I ever done to you?"

Orochimaru slammed his hands on the table. "What did you do? What do you think? Not only did you run away from me, but you let someone else into your heart." He stepped back. "I believe it is time I showed you just who you belong to." Before Naruto could let out a scream, Orochimaru pushed Naruto to the floor, a hand covering his mouth. Kabuto must have known what Orochimaru was going to do as he pulled Naruto's arms above his head and pinned them to the floor. Orochimaru sat on Naruto's stomach, hand still covering Naruto's mouth. The other hand grabbed a handkerchief. Naruto barely managed a gasp as Orochimaru removed his hand and shoved the handkerchief into his mouth. Naruto tried to spit it out, but it wouldn't budge. Since his legs were still free, he tried to use them to get Orochimaru off of him. The man slid backwards, stopping their movements. "You can struggle as much as you want, but no one will help you." At those words, Naruto's eyes went to the classroom's door. "If you think you're little friends can help you, they can't. They are a bit tied up at the moment." Naruto's eyes widened. "But don't worry. As long as you cooperate, nothing will happen to them." Naruto's body began slack as he stopped fighting. "Good." Orochimaru moved a hand to Naruto's stomach. He moved it down to the hem of his shirt, before slipping it underneath. He moved his hand up Naruto's chest. Naruto closed his eyes. The hand slid to his throat, a finger pressing into his skin. "Open your eyes. I want you to see what I'm doing to you." The fingers were a threat and Naruto forced himself to look at Orochimaru. Pleased at seeing Naruto's eyes again, he lowered the hand back down to a nipple. He teased the one closest to Naruto's heart. It managed to get a small noise out of the blond.

"Orochimaru-san," Kabuto said. Orochimaru looked at his toy, for that is what he saw Kabuto as, and understood what he wanted to say. With a nod, Orochimaru's other hand went to Naruto's pants, unzipping them. He shoved a hand down them, under the boxers, taking his prize in his grip. Naruto let out a pained moan. Orochimaru smirked, before squeezing the heated flesh. It was limp, but he knew that teasing it would eventually cause it to harden. He let go of the nipple and moved the hand to his own pants. He was going to pick up the pace, his desire to have the blond reaching its limit.

Kabuto saw this and pulled both of Naruto's hand together so that he could hold them in one hand. He undid his tie and wrapped it around Naruto's wrists before tying it to the desk behind him. Orochimaru pulled down his own pants before pulling down Naruto's, followed by his boxers. Naruto let the tears fall from his eyes at knowing what would happen next. Kabuto leaned over Naruto, grabbing his legs and pulled them back. Naruto cried out in pain at the new position. Orochimaru licked his lips at the sight of Naruto's hole. He reached out to touch it just as something swished by his head and thudded into the floor near his other hand.

"Sorry I was late," a voice said. Three pairs of eyes turned to see Sasori sitting on top of the bookcase in front of the window. He twirled another knife in his fingers. "There was something else I had to do first." At this, Deidara walked in with Gaara and Shukaku.

"You!" Orochimaru yelled. "How?"

Deidara grinned. "I used chemicals, hn!"

"He walked in with a glass full of a blue liquid, called it a liquid bomb, and threatened to blow our captives up," Shukaku said.

Kabuto raised an eyebrow at this. "Your captives?"

Gaara pointed to Sasori. "He tossed a knife into the room. We freed ourselves before beating those men up."

Deidara pouted. "It's not fair." He crossed his arms. "Sasori ruined my fun."

"-Cause blowing up the place was a good plan," Sasori said. Before Deidara could yell at Sasori, Shukaku and Gaara stepped forward.

"Now, I believe you have a friend of ours that you will be letting go," Shukaku said. Gaara cracked his knuckles.

"And what makes you think you've won?" Orochimaru asked.

Sasori sighed before jumping down. "Simple." He lifted a finger and grabbed something no one else could see. He flicked it, allowing everyone to see a string hanging from the window to the knife still embedded in the floor. "That's only one of them. I could pull some of the ones in front of you to choke you until I decide you look better without a head or I can simply cut of that offending appendage of yours."

Orochimaru gulped before quickly pulling up his pants. Kabuto also stepped away from Naruto. This allowed Shukaku to cover Naruto up before taking the knife Sasori had given him to cut Naruto free. He pulled the blond into his arms before moving behind Gaara. He helped the still crying boy into his clothes.

"Now then, what to do," Sasori said.

"Decapitation sounds nice," Gaara mumbled.

"As nice as that sounds," Shukaku said. "I think we should get Naruto home." Gaara glanced at his friends. He nodded. The three of them left the classroom, leaving Orochimaru and Kabuto in Sasori and Deidara's hands.

The driver looked surprised at the sight of Naruto clinging to Shukaku. He opened the door, letting the two of them inside before turning to Gaara. "I'll walk home," Gaara said. "Just get them home quickly." Without another word, Gaara started walking down the street. The driver quickly got into the car and drove off.

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To say Kurama was mad would be an understatement. If it wasn't for Sasuke, she'd have gone after Orochimaru and Kabuto. He managed to hold her back by telling her that Sasori and Deidara would handle them until the turn them over to the rest of Akatsuki. Tsunade managed to get Kurama to sit down. She made sure to have tea ready for everyone. Shukaku and Naruto sat down across from Kurama and Sasuke. Kohaku and Matatabi were upstairs in the playroom. Everyone stayed silent, drinking their tea. Naruto was still shaking. Finally, Sasuke stood up and walked towards Naruto. Without a single word, Sasuke pulled Naruto into his arms. Naruto struggled as his fear of being touched increased, but Sasuke didn't let him go. Instead, he held him tighter.

"Naruto," Sasuke said. This caused Naruto to calm slightly. "Naruto, I'm here for you." Tears poured out of Naruto's eyes as he finally wrapped his arms around Sasuke. Naruto let himself cry as Sasuke continue to whisper into his ears. Shukaku and Kurama looked at each other before smiling. They knew that Naruto was going to be alright.


	20. Chapter 20

Naruto exited the building holding Kakashi's office and got into the car. He had been seeing Kakashi almost every other day. It was to help him cope with the Orochimaru incident. This led Naruto into running into Yuto more often. The man still didn't speak to him, but with how many times they ran into each other lately, whatever Yuto was dealing with had to be equally as bad as what Naruto had to deal with.

After Orochimaru and Kabuto's disappearance, a new teacher was hired. Her name was Chiyuki Hatsumi and she was quite young for being a teacher. It turned out that she was very smart and had graduated from high school at the age of fifteen and collage at nineteen. This made her only three years older than Naruto. She was a great teacher that managed to raise the grades of more than half of her students by how easy she made things seem. If someone didn't understand one of the questions on the quiz, she'd explain in various ways until they did. Overall, Hatsumi was Naruto's favorite teacher.

Deidara continued to teach, but with Sasori taking more part as his assistant. There were no more fire alarms going off. Shukaku had asked them why they were still here and Deidara had go off on a speech about the wonders of teaching. Sasori had simplified it as that they wanted to keep teaching here at least until the end of term. Having them leave after Orochimaru and Kabuto, wasn't a good idea.

Kurama changed a bit after the incident. She became even more caring. She also seemed to hang out with them a lot more. Naruto began to wonder if there was another reason she's been around them besides her overprotectiveness. Sasuke also changed. He distanced himself from Naruto. He had to work, this Naruto understood, but it had never been this much before. Even when Sasuke had a meeting overseas, he's still call to check in on Naruto and Kohaku. This time, he'd contact Tsunade instead of Naruto. Naruto began to wonder if Sasuke hated him.

It was Kurama that suggested that Naruto have his friends come over for the night. Sasuke wasn't due back until after dinner, which caused Naruto to hesitate, but Kurama just grabbed his phone and sent a group text to Sakura and the others. An hour later, Sakura, Fu, Sek-kun, Senshi, Hinata, Shino, Nari, Kai, and Yumi were gathered in the living room along with Shukaku and Gaara. Kurama and Naruto walked in, both carrying trays of food and drinks. A maid was also behind them. The three of them placed the trays on the table. The maid bowed to everyone before leaving. "Well," Kurama said. "Have fun! I have a meeting I have to get to." She waved, grabbed her keys and a jacket before leaving the house.

"So, what should we do?" Yumi asked.

"We can watched a movie," Naruto offered.

"Sure," Fu said. "What do you have?"

"Let's see," Naruto said. He moved to the TV and pulled out a binder from the drawer. It was filled with dvds. The group looked on as Naruto flipped through the pages. After a few minutes, they managed to find one that everyone agreed on.

"Let's watch it in the theater," Shukaku said.

"Theater? Yumi asked. "You have a theater?"

"Yeah," Shukaku said. He too had been surprised when Naruto had first shown him the room. He lead the group to the theater. Several jaws dropped at the sight of the large screen. It was just as big as the screen at a movie theater. "We also have candy and other movie food." He pointed to what looked like a concession stand. He grinned at the amazed looks on his and Naruto's friends. Gaara was the only one not surprised since not only did he see the room before, but he also had a similar one of his own. After a few seconds, Shukaku pressed a button on the wall.

"Yes?" a maid's voice came from the speaker next to the button. "How can I help you?"

"We'd like to watch a movie," Shukaku said.

"Alright," the maid said. "I shall be there in a minute to retrieve the dvd. Shall I have someone bring in some snacks?"

"Nah," Shukaku said. "We were already given some by Mari-chan."

"Understood," the maid said. It didn't take long for her to appear. She bowed as Shukaku handed her the dvd. Everyone took their seats, ready to enjoin the movie.

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After the movie, the group talked about their favorite and least favorite parts. Sek-kun and Fu got in an argument over one part until Senshi gave his opinion. Fu complained that it wasn't fair that Senshi agreed with Sek-kun and that as her boyfriend, he should agree with her. He just smiled. The group moved back into the living room where they started to play some games. A maid ordered pizza for them.

"This has to be one of the best days of my life!" Sek-kun said.

"Hey guys!" Yumi said. "Look what I found!" She held up a bottle.

"Yumi!" Fu whined. "We're underage."

"Oh come one," Yumi said. "Live a little." She poured a few cups. Sakura grabbed one.

"Sakura?" Fu asked.

"She's right," Sakura said. "You only live once." She took a sip. The others grabbed a cup. Naruto knew it wasn't a good decision to drink Sasuke's wine, but part of him wanted to see Sasuke's reaction. Besides, if the others were going to do it, he might as well. It didn't take long for the group to go through three bottles.

"What the hell is going on?" Kurama yelled when she walked into the room. "I said to have fun, not to get drunk! That's my wine!"

'Ah,' Shukaku thought. 'So it wasn't Sasuke's.' Shukaku and Gaara seemed to be the only ones not drunk.

"Dammit!" Kurama said. "I can't let Sasuke see you guys like this and I can't let you go home drunk." She paused. "Guess I'll need to find you a place to stay until you sober up." She went to get some maids to help her carry everyone to the guest rooms. Shukaku and Gaara helped carry the boys. "Honestly, why did you guys break into my stash?"

"It was Yumi's idea," Shukaku said. "She can be very persuasive."

Kurama shook her head. "For such smart kids, you guys are idiots. That's no excuse for what you've done. You're grounded." Shukaku nodded. He had expected as much and knew that he deserved it. Not only did he not stop the others, but he too drank some of the wine. "Let me know when one of them wakes up." She turned to Gaara. "And you, are you ok to go home?" Gaara nodded. "Alright. Leave when you're ready." She left the room and headed back down stairs to clean up the mess and to see what they hadn't gotten their hands on. As she looked at each bottle, she notes that one of them wasn't familiar. She stared at it for a few seconds wondering where it had come from, for it wasn't hers.

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Sasuke came home a few hours later. Yumi was the only one of Naruto's friends still there, sleeping in a guest room. The others had gone home. Naruto however, was awake. He staggered out of bed and headed down to get some water. He didn't notice that Sasuke was coming up the stairs. Naruto walked right into Sasuke, forcing him against the wall. Sasuke's head hit the wall and he let out a curse of pain.

"S-sorry," Naruto mumbled. He took a step back, before turning to walk down the stairs. He slipped and closed his eyes, preparing for the pain. But arms had wrapped around him and had pulled him backwards. The momentum however caused Sasuke to lose his own footing. They fell backwards, Sasuke landing on his back with Naruto's back still against his chest. Again, Sasuke let out a curse. Naruto rolled over, pressing his hand against the floor, trying to get up. But his hand couldn't hold his weight and he slammed back, his mouth colliding with Sasuke's. Two pairs of eyes widened at the contact. Naruto blushed before he flung himself backwards. He stammered out an apology before runny down the stairs.

Sasuke sat up, his fingers going to his lips. He stared at where Naruto had been, several different things running through his head. He had been avoiding Naruto since the Orochimaru incident, using work as his excuse. Sasuke hadn't known why he'd been avoiding the blond. But the accidental kiss just know gave him his reason. His feelings concerning Naruto were changing. He replayed the scene of Naruto crying into his shoulder, clinging to him. He had found him cute. That thought had pissed him off. How could he find Naruto cute when he was simply seeking comfort after such a terrible event? Luckily Naruto had cried himself to sleep and Shukaku had carried him to his room. Sasuke was afraid that if he had been the one to carry Naruto that he'd have take advantage of the blond. Sure, he had found Naruto attractive, but he wasn't going to do anything to the younger boy.

Sasuke's mind suddenly went into overdrive as how Naruto was acting entered his mind. Concerned that Naruto might be sick, Sasuke went back downstairs and into the kitchen. Naruto was holding a glass of water, drinking it. Sasuke licked his lips as he watched the water disappear into Naruto's mouth. He gulped before shaking his head. Now was not the time for such thoughts. "Are you alright?"

Naruto nearly choked on the water at Sasuke's voice. He swallowed before lowering the glass. "I-I'm fine."

Sasuke frowned as he took as step forward. "Are you sure?" He raised a hand and pressed it against Naruto's forehead. Naruto blushed causing Sasuke's frown to deepen. Naruto didn't seem to have a fever. "You're red. Did you eat something bad?"

"N-no," Naruto said. He looked down at the floor. "I… I um… had some wine."

"What?" Sasuke asked. "You drank alcohol?" Naruto nodded. "Why?"

"Yumi kind of made me," Naruto said. "She can be very persuasive."

Sasuke nodded. He wasn't really happy to hear this. "And I'm guessing you learned a valuable lesson?"

"Yes," Naruto said.

"Hn," Sasuke said. "Alright. I'll make sure you get back to your room safely. Also, I'd like to talk to Yumi about why underage drinking is bad."

"Please don't," Naruto begged. "Yumi knows what she did was wrong. Kurama already…"

"Kurama?" Sasuke asked. "She knew?" Naruto couldn't help but nod. "That…"

"It isn't her fault!" Naruto yelled. "I was pretty out of it, but I know she lectured us." Naruto lifted his head so that his eyes were looking right at Sasuke's. "It is my fault for not stopping them. As the host, it was my duty to make sure nothing bad happened. I failed in my duty."

Sasuke sighed. "Alright. Just promise me you won't do something like this again."

"I won't," Naruto promised.

Sasuke nodded. "Then let's go to bed." Naruto placed the glass into the sink before walking ahead of Sasuke up the stairs. Sasuke followed him until they reached his bedroom. "Get some sleep. You have school tomorrow."

"Good night, Sasuke-san," Naruto said.

Sasuke couldn't help but smile. "Good night Naruto." Naruto closed the door behind him and Sasuke took that as his sign to go to his own room to get some sleep. He glanced back at Naruto's door before he opened the door to his room. His hand went to his chest right after the door closed behind him. He took a deep breath before quickly changing and getting into bed. That night, Sasuke had a hard time falling asleep.


	21. Chapter 21

Graduation. It was nearing everyday and in all honesty, it scared Sasuke. Being in school was another reason Sasuke had used to hide his feelings. But that excuse would no longer be available in just a month. He was proud that Naruto was so smart, but that also meant that he'd be able to graduate with the others his age. Shukaku had also been able to earn the right to graduate since he no longer missed so many days. Sasuke was beginning to regret hiring the tutor that got the two of them caught up. Then again, it only made sense that Shikamaru would be able to help them. The man had an IQ of over 200 after all!

"I think we should have a party," Kurama said, interrupting Sasuke's thoughts. "We can invite all of your friends. I think the day after the graduation would be the best."

"Actually, Sakura already invited us out with the others," Naruto said. "I'd like to go with them, if that is ok."

Kurama and Sasuke frowned, though only Kurama saw Sasuke's frown. She nearly smiled at his reaction before she sighed. She didn't really want Naruto to hang out with Sakura. She knew the girl was still after him. An idea popped in her head.

"That's fine," Sasuke said before Kurama could speak. Her eyes widened briefly as she looked at Sasuke. "You should have fun." He turned towards Kohaku. "Have a good day at school, Kohaku." Standing up, Sasuke excused himself from the table, bringing his dirty dishes to the sink. He glanced at Naruto who had resumed talking to Shukaku. His eyes then met Kurama's and he forced himself to look away. Sasuke made his way to his office.

Kurama sat for a few minutes before letting them know she was done. She used the excuse that she had some work to do. She walked into Sasuke's office, not even bothering to knock. Sasuke knew she was going to come after him. She sat down making sure she was directly facing Sasuke. Neither spoke as Sasuke read through some pages before signing his name. Finally, he looked up, putting the papers aside. He folded his hands in front of himself, ready for Kurama's lecture.

"When did you realize that you love Naruto?" Kurama asked. Sasuke's eyes widened. He hadn't been expecting that.

"W-what?" He stuttered.

"You heard me," Kurama said.

"I don't know," Sasuke said. He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "But it doesn't matter."

"Why?" Kurama asked. "Because he's ten years younger than you? Because he's a boy? Those things are not important. If you love him then you…"

"Kurama," Sasuke said. She fell silent. "You know I can't."

"Is it because of Mizori?" Kurama asked. "She's been gone for nearly five years now."

"The same could be said about you," Sasuke said. "Itachi died over six years ago."

"That's different," Kurama said. "I loved Itachi. I know you didn't love Mizori like that. Besides, after what she did…"

"She gave me Kohaku," Sasuke said. "He's the most important person in my life."

"You can have more than one important person," Kurama said.

"Get out," Sasuke said. He glared at Kurama. "Just leave."

Kurama huffed. "Fine. But don't ignore your feelings for too long." She walked to the door. "Or you'll only hurt yourself more.

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"Congratulations Naru-chan!" Kohaku cheered. His speech had greatly improved over the last few months.

"Thank you, Kohaku! Naruto said. He lifted the little boy up and spun him around. Both of them laughed.

"Congratulations, Naru," Matatabi said, blushing. She held out a bouquet of flowers. Naruto smiled he took them.

"Hey!" Shukaku pouted. "I'm your brother. Where's my flowers?"

"Naru is prettier," Matatabi said. "Shu no look good with flowers." Shukaku frowned as Naruto laughed.

"Still," the blond said, kneeling down. "I think Shukaku really wanted some flowers." Matatabi's eyes widened before she grabbed a rose from the bouquet and handed it to Shukaku. Shukaku rolled his eyes but accepted the rose.

"Are you glad that high school is over?" Kurama asked.

"A bit," Naruto said. "But I'm going to miss the place."

"At least we get to see each other everyday," Shukaku said. "It is a good thing we live together."

"Lucky you," Gaara said, approaching the group.

"I thought you were with your family," Shukaku said.

Gaara shrugged. "Temari had to work and only Kankuro could come."

"Hey!" a boy a few years older than Gaara said, walking up to the group. "At least I cared enough to get the night off!" He looked at the others. "Sorry for all the trouble Gaara probably has made for you."

"Oh nonsense," Kurama said. "He's a good boy."

"Coming from such a beautiful woman, it must be true," Kankuro said. Kurama laughed while Shukaku frown. He glared at the older man. Naruto nudged him, a questioning look on his face. Shukaku just shook his head, mumbling later.

"Naruto!" Sakura called. Yumi and Fu were with her. "Congrats on graduating! Have you decided on which college you're gonna go to?"

"I haven't really thought about college," Naruto said.

"Well, I hope you think about coming to Konoha University," Sakura said. "It would be nice to be able to see you everyday."

"I'll think about it," Naruto said, glancing at Sasuke before smiling back at Sakura. "Are you ready for tonight?"

"Of course!" Sakura said. "I've been looking forward to it."

"Alright!" Yumi said. "I think it is time to get going. We wouldn't want to miss the reservation."

"Right," Naruto said. He walked over to Kurama and Sasuke. "I don't know what time we'll be home, but I have my phone on. Call me if you need anything."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. Naruto's frown disappeared for a second before he nodded and walked back over to Kohaku, giving him his goodbye.

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"I'm back!" Sai said. He looked around. "Where's Naruto and Shukaku?"

"Did you forget?" Sasuke said. "They're out with their friends. Tonight was their graduation."

"Ah!" Sai said. "That was tonight? And here I though I got here in time." He shook his head. "But there is something more important that I need to talk to you about." Sasuke frowned. Sai had only gotten a serious look on his face two times before, once when he admitted that he was gay and that he was going to become a wedding planner, the other time being when he apologised for his part in Itachi's death. "They've found a suspect."

Sasuke dropped his glass of wine. At the noise, Kurama ran into the room. The look on Sasuke's face caused her to take a step back. "Who?"

"I didn't get a name," Sai said.

"Why not?" Sasuke asked.

"Because I know what you'd do with that information," Sai said. "And I know that if you did something, it could affect the family, especially Kohaku and Naruto." It took a few seconds, as Sasuke played Sai's words over and over in his mind before he calmly sat down. Kurama moved to take the seat next to Sasuke, awaiting Sai to continue.

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"Are you going to sing?" Temari asked as she sat down next to Naruto, a drink in her hand.

"Not sure yet," Naruto said. "I've never sung in front of so many people."

"Ah!" Temari said. "So you're scared. Don't worry. None of us will judge."

"Alright," Naruto said. "I'll do it if you sing with me."

"A duet?" Temari smiled. "Sure!" Jealousy flashed through Sakura's eyes. She watched Temari move closer to Naruto as the two flipped through the song booklet.

"What's wrong?" Yumi asked her.

"It's nothing," Sakura said, taking a sip of her drink.

"Look, why don't you just ask him out again?" Yumi asked. "He may have turned you down, but he may have changed his mind. If not, then he isn't the one for you."

Sakura slammed her hand on the table. Everyone turned to look at her. She blushed. "I-I'm going to sing." She picked a random song before grabbing the microphone and beginning to sing. Sakura wasn't a bad singer, but she wasn't that good either. Some of her friends could hear her anger in her voice as she continued to sing. Once she was done, she took her seat and tried to calm herself down.

Temari and Naruto soon took the stage. The two sang, Naruto's voice clearly better than Temari's. As the song continued, Naruto became less nervous and started having fun. Once the song was over, Temari and Naruto started talking about their next song.

Shukaku and Gaara were glad that Naruto was having fun. Temari and Naruto ended up singing two more duets together. Temari also forced Gaara to sing with her. Kankuro had laughed until he too was forced to sing. Shukaku sang after Yumi and Sek-kun, who was still blushing at having sung a love song with Yumi. Overall, everyone seemed to be having fun, except Sakura who was sulking in the corner. Her friends tried to cheer her up, but seeing Naruto and Temari together had made her very depressed.

"You know," Yumi said. "It isn't over yet. You still have a chance." Sakura looked at Yumi, saw the look in her eyes, and couldn't help but smile.


	22. Chapter 22

After the party, Temari and Naruto began to date. Kurama had to admit that she liked Temari a lot more than she liked Sakura. The girl had a good head on her shoulders and respected Naruto's space. She didn't call several times a day as she was more of a texter than a caller. Kohaku also liked her. Sasuke on the other hand had a hard time seeing Naruto with Temari. He had started seeing Kakashi again, hoping the man would be able to help him with his feelings. Kakashi had been a good help to keep Sasuke from doing something bad. Shukaku had mixed feelings. He was glad that Naruto was happy, but something told him that Naruto's happiness wasn't real.

Shukaku and Naruto sat playing video games as Matatabi and Kohaku were playing with some legos. Kurama walked into the room and gave them some snacks. She looked at the TV. "Having fun?"

"These stupid characters aren't moving the way I want them to," Naruto said.

"Guess you need more practice," Kurama said. "Well, have fun!" She smiled before leaving the room. Naruto glanced at Shukaku, whose eyes were watching Kurama.

Feeling Naruto's eyes on him, Shukaku turned towards Naruto. "What?"

"You were staring at her again," Naruto said. Shukaku blushed and looked away. "You should tell her how you feel."

"She's out of my league," Shukaku said. "Besides, she still loves Itachi."

"I don't think that will ever change," Naruto admitted. "But I also think that you two would make a good couple. Sure there is a big age difference, but I don't think you should let that stop you."

Shukaku sighed. "I don't know."

Naruto put his arm around the brunet. "You won't know until you try." Shukaku smiled.

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"Hey," Gaara said as he stepped into the house.

"Hi Gaara!" Naruto said. He turned to the woman behind the red-head. "Hi Temari."

Temari smiled. "This place is huge."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "I still get lost sometimes." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "But don't worry, I'll make sure you don't." He led the two into the game room. Shukaku looked up at their arrival and grinned. Not even having to say a word, Gaara and Shukaku made their way over to play Air Hockey. "I'll go get some drinks!" He turned and walked out of the room. Temari glanced at her brother who was too focused on his game against Shukaku to notice her stare. She counted to ten in her head before going after Naruto.

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"...and this one as well," Neji said and he handed Sasuke a piece of paper. The raven sighed as he signed it.

"When are you coming back?" Shikamaru asked. "Things have been troublesome since you…"

"The police have found the one responsible for Itachi's death," Sasuke said. "I've been busy with my lawyers."

"I understand," Neji said. "I'll make sure to keep our rivals from finding out the situation you are in."

"Good," Sasuke nodded. "It would be bad if they tried to move in one our clients during my absence. I'll make sure that this doesn't go one for too long." He took a sip of his water, before glancing at the clock. "I suppose it's time for lunch." He stood up. "Shall we go out today?" Neji and Shikamaru looked at each other before stating their agreements. Sasuke grabbed his suit jacket and headed for the door. Neji and Shikamaru followed behind him.

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Shukaku scored the winning point and cheered. He then looked around and noticed that Naruto wasn't back yet. And on top of that, Temari was missing. "Maybe she went to the bathroom."

"She's been gone awhile," Gaara said, a bit concerned.

"It is a big house," Shukaku said. "She could have gotten lost. We should go see it we can find her."

"Let's get Naruto first," Gaara said. "An extra pair of eyes would be good." Shukaku and Gaara left the room. The two nearly ran into Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru on the way. Shukaku quickly explained things while Gaara kept his eyes on Neji. Neji felt the eyes on him, turned towards Gaara and smiled. Gaara blushed and turned away. Shikamaru saw the exchange. 'Interesting,' he thought. The group made their way towards the kitchen. Their eyes widened at the scene in front of them. Naruto and Temari were making out as the older blond had the younger pinned against the counter. Several cans of soda lay on both the counter and the floor, one of which had broken open upon its impact with the floor.

Shukaku caught the clenching of Sasuke's fists, before he glanced into the man's eyes. He saw anger in those black eyes that he hadn't seen before. Gulping, he decided not to let things continue. He coughed causing Temari and Naruto to stop kissing. Naruto blushed and Temari stepped back to give him some space. Her eyes found Sasuke's and she smirked. Naruto was too busy finding a spot on the floor very appealing to see the silent exchange between Sasuke and Temari.

Once again, Shukaku took it upon himself to lighten the mood. "I'm a bit hungry. Why don't we pick up those drinks and head out for lunch?"

"That's what we were about to do," Neji said, catching on to Shukaku's plan. Gaara also caught on and started picking up the can. Naruto decided to go along with it and started helping Gaara. Shikamaru distracted Sasuke enough for him to calm down and to keep Temari alive. After ten more minutes, the group of seven were in the back of one of Sasuke's cars. Naruto sat in between Temari and Sasuke, wondering why the atmosphere felt so heavy. Sasuke kept glaring at Temari while she just smirked back at him. During the lunch, Neji and Shukaku managed to keep the peace. Gaara and Shikamaru helped as much as they could. Once it was over, Gaara decided it was better if they went home. He grabbed his sister's arm and began to pull her down the street.

"Hold on!" Neji called after them. "I'll walk with you." He easily caught up to them. "There is something I need to pick up anyway." He turned towards Shikamaru. "See you back at the office." Shikamaru nodded.

"Bye Naruto!" Temari said, as Gaara pulled on her arm again. She glared at her brother, but followed him anyway.

"I need to get back to the office," Shikamaru said, not wanting to be around Sasuke for much longer.

"Bye Shika!" Naruto said. Shikamaru raised a hand in a little wave before he disappeared down the next street. Naruto, Sasuke, and Shukaku got back in Sasuke's car and returned to the Uchiha Mansion. Sasuke stopped passed Kurama who raised an eyebrow at his behavior. She glanced at Naruto who looked just as confused as she did. Then her eye met Shukaku's. She instantly knew that he had a idea of what was going on.

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Neji slipped his phone number into Gaara's pocket before he separated from the siblings. Once he was gone, Gaara glared at Temari. "What?"

"Do you understand what you did?" Gaara asked.

Temari sighed. "So what? Naruto and I are dating. You'd think people would expect us to kiss." She crossed her arms. "Besides, how was I supposed to know that it would anger Sasuke?"

Gaara frowned. He didn't want Temari or Naruto to be hurt and that was why he'd been against the two of them getting together. He knew that their relationship wasn't going to last and it scared him that he'd most likely lose Naruto's friendship in order to console his sister. He put his hands into his pockets. Feeling a piece of paper in one of them, he took it out. A smile appeared on his face as he took in Neji's handwriting. Temari shuddered at her brother's sudden change of emotions. She stayed silent the rest of the way home.

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"So Sasuke caught Temari and Naruto making out in the kitchen?" Kurama asked. Shukaku nodded. "That's not good."

"He loves Naruto," Shukaku said. "Doesn't he?"

"I believe so," Kurama said. She sighed. "If only he'd just tell Naruto how he feels."

"I think Naruto loves Sasuke," Shukaku said. Kurama's eyes widened at that. "I'm not sure how to explain it. I know he loves him like he's family, but there is something more to it. He loves us and Kohaku, but that love is different from his love for Sasuke. I think the only reason he doesn't explore that feeling more, is because he feels like he owes Sasuke."

"He doesn't owe Sasuke anything," Kurama said. "If anything, Sasuke owes Naruto for helping him get over what happened with Mizori. He's also helped raised Kohaku. Without him, Kohaku may have died in Sound."

"He'd argue that Sasuke saved him from Sound and Orochimaru," Shukaku said.

"Still, I think they would make a good couple."

"Even if they're both men?"

"Love is love. Gender, age… none of that matters."

Shukaku smiled. "I agree."


	23. Chapter 23

"What's wrong?" Shukaku asked. Shukaku and Naruto were up late, hanging out in Shukaku's room.

"I think Temari and I are drifting away," Naruto said. "We don't talk on the phone as often as we did before."

"Do you love her?" Shukaku asked.

"I'm not sure," Naruto answered. "I thought I was, but part of me is saying that she isn't the one."

"You need to tell her," Shukaku said. "If this continues and it turns out you don't love her, both of you will get hurt." Naruto nodded. He knew Shukaku was right, he'd have to tell Temari.

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A scream came from Kohaku's room causing Sasuke to wake up. He quickly ran to his sons room to find him on the floor in Naruto's arms. The boy was crying as Naruto held him tight. Sasuke relaxed a little, knowing Kohaku was safe with Naruto. Kurama and Shukaku stood behind him and he told them it was alright. Everyone was glad that Matatabi was sound asleep since sometimes it was hard to get her back to bed. Kurama and Shukaku went back to their rooms, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep.

"Are you alright now?" Naruto asked.

"M-mommy?" Kohaku asked.

A look of surprise appeared on Naruto's face, and he wasn't the only one. Sasuke had never heard Kohaku call for his mother. Guilt shook his body as he knew that Kohaku would never meet his mother again.

"Yes?" Naruto said, deciding to let the boy call him whatever he wanted.

"I love you," Kohaku said, hugging Naruto.

"I love you too," Naruto said, lift the boy up. He placed him back in his bed. "Do you want me to sleep with you tonight?"

"With Daddy?" Kohaku asked. Naruto turned, noticing Sasuke for the first time. He gave the other a look, forcing Sasuke to nod.

Naruto smiled and turned back to Kohaku. "With Daddy." Once more, he lifted Kohaku up. Sasuke lead the two into his room since he had the biggest of the three beds. Naruto and Kohaku got on the bed first. Sasuke wondered if this was a good idea before he too climbed into bed. Kohaku pulled on Sasuke's arm, making the man move even closer towards him. With this new position, one of Sasuke's arms had to lay on top of one of Naruto's. Naruto smiled before he closed his eyes, letting sleep take him. Sasuke watched Kohaku and Naruto sleep for a few minutes as his mind filled with various thoughts. He soon came to one realization: he needed to keep Naruto in his like no matter what.

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"So you're breaking up with me then," Temari said. Her and Naruto were sitting on the couch in the game room. Everyone else was out for the day.

"That's not…" Naruto began but Temari held up a hand stopping him.

"It is alright," Temari said. "I understand." She stood up. "Part of me knew this was going to happen. I'm glad it did now than later." She began walking towards the door. Naruto didn't know what to say to her as she stopped with her hand on the doorknob. Temari turned back towards Naruto. "In all honesty, I knew we wouldn't last. We may have a lot of likes and dislikes in common, but that doesn't make two people perfect for each other. It is the differences that do." She looked right into Naruto's eyes. "One day, you will fall in love and I know that whomever manages to win your heart will be the luckiest person alive." She turned back around and once more put her hand on the doorknob. "And one more thing." She glance over her shoulder and smiled. "We can still be friends." With that, Temari walked out of the Uchiha mansion.

Naruto sat in silence for a few minutes taking in Temari's words. He let out a sigh of relief that they'd still be friends since Temari was a good person. He hoped she'd find someone that cherished her soon. Gaara suddenly popped in his mind. Standing up, Naruto headed to his room. He a phone call to make.

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Days went by and Temari called Naruto to inform him that she had asked Shikamaru out. Naruto was glad to hear that the lazy man had said yes. She also informed him that Gaara wasn't really mad and that he was dating Neji. Naruto was a bit surprised at this since he had no idea that Gaara was gay. Temari told him that it didn't matter that Neji was a man as long as he made Gaara happy. She even threw in that if she ever found out that Neji hurt Gaara, she beat him up. Naruto promised that he'd help. The two laughed until Kankuro made a comment that Naruto luckily, wasn't able to hear. He did however, hear Temari get up and smack him before a yelling match began. Naruto shook his head and hung up before sending test that read: Good luck on the first date!

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"I heard you broke up with Temari," Kakashi said.

"Yeah," Naruto said, looking down in embarrassment. "I didn't want to lead her on."

"You weren't in love with her," Kakashi stated. "Then does that mean there is someone you are in love with?"

"I don't know," Naruto said. "It just didn't feel right. Part of me knew from the beginning that what we had was just friendship. Luckily, we still are friends."

"Did she tell you how she felt?" Kakashi asked.

"She told me she knew we wouldn't last," Naruto said. "She also said that it isn't the similarities that make a good couple but the differences." He frowned. "I don't get it. Wouldn't it be better to have more similarities? That way the dates are fun for both people. I mean, it was easy to plan everything since I knew that we'd both like the same movie. Even our lunch date went well since we both like ramen!"

"Do you think you liked dating her because it was so easy?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Relationships should not be so easy," Kakashi said. "It is the difficulties you go through that bring you together." When Naruto just tilted his head to the side, Kakashi knew that Naruto wasn't getting it. "Let's put it this way. As you know, Iruka and I are dating." Naruto nodded. "A lot of people don't understand why we are together because as you would say, we are very different. Because we are so different, we appreciate the few similarities that we do have. It is also because we are different that Iruka has what I need just as I have what he needs. We make each other better people, and we complete each other."

"I think I understand," Naruto said. "But how will I know that I love someone?"

"If you how to think about whether you love someone, then you simply don't," Kakashi said. "When you love someone, you will just know. Tell me, have you ever asked Kurama about Itachi?" Naruto shook his head. "Ask her."

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Kurama reached up and grabbed a can of pineapple juice before putting it in the cart. She was with Naruto at the shopping center, picking up some things for the week. Normally a maid would have done the shopping but Kurama wanted to get out of the house. She also knew that Naruto wanted to talk to her. The way he kept looking at her gave it away. She had hoped that being alone with him would get him to open up. Another look caused her to stop suddenly. Naruto was quick enough to keep the cart from hitting Kurama. "You know," she began. "If there is ever anything you want to talk about, you need only ask."

Naruto opened his mouth then closed it. He appeared to be thinking. Then he opened his mouth again. "I was just wondering. How did you know that you were in love with Itachi?"

Kurama looked a bit shocked at the question and Naruto was about to say never mind when Kurama smiled. "I think I loved Itachi the moment I met him, but I didn't know until I realized that I didn't want to live without him. I pictured a life with him and knew right away that I'd never be happier." She paused as a memory of Itachi popped in her head. "I could be myself around him and I believe he could be himself around me. Neither of us had to hide anything from the other." She brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "You know, it is different for everyone. Sometimes you know right away and sometimes it take years to know. Especially since there is a difference between loving someone and being in love with them. You may love a friend but your soulmate is the one you're in love with. Sometimes your friend is your soulmate, but your soulmate is never just a friend. It may be hard to see the difference but think about it like this. If your friend was to die, you'd grieve over their lose, but know that your other friends would be there to help you move on. If you lost your soulmate, a piece of you would die with them and it would never come back. Not even after you move on."

"What about if your first love wasn't really your soulmate?" Naruto asked. "What if you fell in love with more than one person?"

"If you are asking if it is possible for someone to have more than one soulmate, then yes," Kurama said. "Although a piece of you may never come back, a new love can be found to help keep the rest of the pieces together."

Naruto nodded. "I think I understand."

Kurama smiled and smacked Naruto's back. "I'm glad you do! Now, let's pick up some tomatoes. You know how Uchihas love their tomatoes." She turned and skipped ahead. Naruto smiled as he followed after Kurama.


	24. Chapter 24

It was Yumi's twenty-first birthday and she wanted it to be a blast. It was also a celebration of her and Sekkyoku finally getting together. It had been Fu that had had enough of their dancing around each other and literally pushed Yumi into dating her brother. The kiss had been short as Sekkyoku started yelling at Fu. Because Yumi thought he was mad that it was her he'd kissed, she had run off, but after Fu's encouragement, the two came back hand in hand. This had happened just over a week ago.

Now, Yumi and her friends were in her living room dancing to some loud music and having a lot of fun. Unknown to her friends, Yumi had spiked the punch. The only people that hadn't gotten any alcohol were Hinata because Neji would kill Yumi, Fu because she was scary when she was drunk, and Yumi herself. Yumi made sure that Sek-kun didn't have too much. As for Senshi, Nari, Kai, Sakura, and Naruto, they were fair game. Nari and Kai must have noticed that the punch was spiked as they stopped drinking it after two cups. Senshi also started drinking water. Naruto and Sakura on the other hand didn't have any clue. Sakura was on her sixth cup when she had gotten dizzy and was forced to sit down. Naruto on the other hand was on his fifth cup and he was dancing like he was birthday boy. About ten minutes later, Naruto slipped and Sek-kun ended up under him. Fu nearly yelled at Yumi as her brother struggled to move out from under the unconscious blonde. But instead, she just frowned and told Yumi that it was about time the party was over.

Nari and Kai left quickly, not wanting to get involved with whatever Fu was gonna do to Yumi. They grabbed Hinata by the arm and pulled her to Kai's car. Hinata threw glances at her friends, but knew that it was better if she stayed out of it. Besides, she was sure the Neji and her father wanted her home. Senshi managed to keep Fu calm and got her into his car. They waited a few minutes before Sek-kun joined them. He had helped Yumi bring Sakura and Naruto into a guest room.

Yumi stood in the guest room, watching as Senshi pulled out of her driveway. She then turned to face Naruto and Sakura who were asleep on the same bed. She had convinced Sek-kun that it would be ok for them to sleep in the same bed since there were friends. Yumi smirked as she stepped towards her sleeping friends, an evil idea popping into her head.

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While Naruto was at Yumi's party, Kurama, Shukaku, and Sasuke were watching a movie. Matatabi and Kohaku were already asleep. Sasuke's phone buzzed letting him know that he had received a text message. He frown before sighing and sending a reply. Sasuke looked up,feeling two pairs of eyes on him. "It was Naruto. He's staying at Yumi's and will be back in the morning."

"And you are ok with that?" Kurama asked. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Kurama shook her head before standing. "I'm going to bed. Watch the rest without me." She walked away without another word.

"What's wrong with her?" Sasuke asked.

"So you really not know?" Shukaku asked. Sasuke just gave him a confused look. Shukaku sighed. "Kurama doesn't think it is a good idea for Naruto to be around Yumi or Sakura. And I kind of agree with her."

"Then what should I do?" Sasuke asked. "Demand that Naruto come home?"

"No," Shukaku said. "He has to find out the hard way." Again Sasuke looked confused. "It's nothing." He grabbed for the remote, wanting to continue the movie, but Sasuke grabbed it first.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"It's a bit obvious that Sakura likes Naruto, and I mean really likes Naruto," Shukaku said.

"So?" Sasuke asked.

"Doesn't that bother you?" Shukaku asked. Sasuke shrugged. "If the person I loved has someone else interested in them, I'd be afraid to let them hang out. Part of me would questioned if they'd return the other's feelings."

"You're in love with someone?" Sasuke asked. Shukaku blushed and nodded. Sasuke smirked. "Someone I know?"

"Kurama," Shukaku whispered.

"Oh," Sasuke said. He looked a bit surprised. "That's…"

"I know," Shukaku said. "She already has Itachi."

"Itachi's dead," Sasuke said. "He's been gone for a long time."

"I know," Shukaku said. "But you don't just get over losing your soulmate."

"But there is always a chance that someone has more than one soulmate," Sasuke said. Shukaku looked at Sasuke with surprise clearly written on his face. "I know this might sound strange coming from someone that married not out of love but for money, but love is the strongest force in this world. It can't be outdone even by death. Yes, she loved Itachi, but the heart is able to love more than one person."

Shukaku couldn't help but laugh. Sasuke frowned and glared. "S-sorry. It's just… I never pictured you as a romantic."

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm not really. It's just something close to what I mom once said to one of her friends. I was only twelve at the time, but my mother had a friend who was in love with someone that lost a loved one. I might not remember her words exactly but I know she would have said something along those lines."

"I've never heard you talk about your parents," Shukaku said.

"I don't really like to talk about them," Sasuke said. "And neither did Itachi."

"May I ask, what happened to them?" Shukaku asked.

Sasuke smiled sadly. "They died a few weeks after that talk. They were on their anniversary when their boat sank. Not many people survived. If I remember correctly, my mother's friend was on that boat as well."

"I'm sorry," Shukaku said.

"It was an accident," Sasuke said. "The captain didn't see the hidden reef under the water. I'm sure you've heard of the Titanic? Well, their ship was smaller than that but it went down so much faster."

"Still, I…"

"It's alright. And that is off point. What I'm trying to say is that I want you to give it a try. If Kurama rejects you, it just means she's not the one. There is definitely someone out there for you."

"Like Naruto is the one for you?"

Sasuke blushed. "T-that's…" He paused. "I'm twelve years older than him and I'm a man."

"Age is just a number. And love is genderless." Shukaku smiled. "Kurama told me that."

Sasuke smiled. "You're right." He nodded. "Then I guess there is only one thing we can do."

"What's that?"

"We have to go forth and follow our hearts." Shukaku grinned. Yeah, that was right.

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Sakura awoke first and smiled at seeing Naruto's sleeping face. He was cute. She sat up, to get out out of bed only to notice her state of undress. Her gasp must have woke Naruto up for blues eyes were looking right at her. Before Naruto could process anything, Sakura screamed.

Yumi heard the scream and smirked. She stretched and got out of bed. She then ran into the guest room, ready to pretend she hadn't known what was going on. "Are you two alright?" She stepped into the room, noticing that Sakura had the blanket wrapped around her body while poor Naruto only had a pillow in front of him. "Oh my."

"I-it's not what it looks like!" Naruto yelled.

"Oh?" Yumi crossed her arms. "And what pray tell happened?"

"Um…" Naruto looked at Sakura for an answer.

"I… I don't know," Sakura said.

"Well, I'm not surprised," Yumi said. "You did drink a lot last night."

"Eh?" Naruto asked. "But I didn't drink any alcohol. All I drank was the punch."

"It was spiked!" Sakura yelled.

"Of course it was," Yumi said. "It seems that you two are the only ones that didn't know that."

"You... " Sakura carefully stood up, making sure the blanket was securely around her. "This is your fault!"

"Hey!" Yumi raised her voice. "I didn't make you sleep together."

Sakura blushed. "Oh god!" She slumped back onto the bed. "We didn't, did we?"

"Sakura?" Naruto asked. "Are alright?"

Sakura glanced at Naruto before looking back at Yumi. "Please tell me we didn't."

"I can't tell you that," Yumi said. She pretended to look embarrassed. "You two were a bit loud last night." This wasn't really a lie since the two had sung quit loudly while they partied. But she wasn't about to let them know that.

Sakura wrapped her arms around her body as she began to shake. Sure she liked Naruto, but to lose her virginity without even remembering it? She was ashamed of herself. Naruto looked at Sakura as he tried to cover himself more. From what he gathered, he had taken Sakura's virginity and lost his own all while they were drunk. And Sakura was regretting it. Several things went through his mind until he came to the conclusion that he needed to talk to someone about this. But first, he had to be a man. "I'll take responsibility," Naruto said. Sakura and Yumi looked at Naruto. "I know that neither of us remember what we did. But what happened happened." He looked right into Sakura's eye. "We are both adults. And although we may not be ready, I'm willing to take responsibility."

Sakura blushed and Yumi couldn't help but feel a bit bad about what she was doing to Naruto and Sakura. She had to admit that Naruto was a good man. "We don't even know if I'm pregnant," Sakura said. "We won't know for awhile."

"If you are," Naruto said. "I'm willing to take care of any children you carry. And If you decide that you don't want to have that baby…" He swallowed. It hurt to think that Sakura would want to terminate her pregnancy. He couldn't bring himself to say anymore but Sakura understood what he meant. She was a bit surprised that Naruto was willing to take care of her.

"I need to go home," Sakura said. "We both do." She stood up. "I think it would be best if we thought about what happened. Also, I need time." Naruto nodded. "Yumi, can I borrow a change of clothes?"

"Of course," Yumi said. She led Sakura to her room and helped her find some clothes. Not wanting to ruin her plan, Yumi left Sakura to change. She walked back to the guest room to find Naruto looking for his shirt. He already had his boxers and pants on. "It's over there." She pointed to the edge of the closet.

"T-thanks," Naruto said, grabbing his shirt and putting it on. He soon found his sock and put them on as well. Yumi quickly found Sakura's clothes and decided that she'd wash them. "I can't seem to find my phone."

Yumi nearly cursed. Naruto's phone was in her room. "I'll help you look for it. Maybe it's downstairs."

"I'll look in here a bit more," Naruto said. "Can you look in your living room?"

"Sure," Yumi said. "I just need to check on Sakura first."

"I'll meet your downstairs then," Naruto said. Yumi nodded before almost running back to her room. Luckily, Sakura didn't notice that Naruto's phone was sitting on Yumi's desk.

"I'll see you later," Sakura said.

"Sure," Yumi said, carefully making her way over to her desk. "If you need to talk, you can always call me."

"I will," Sakura said. She couldn't bring it upon herself to say another word. Instead she made her way downstairs. She nodded to Naruto as she passed him on her way out. Naruto remained silent, not sure what to say.

Yumi came down, with Naruto's phone hidden on her person. "Did you find your phone?"

"Not yet," Naruto said.

"We'll find it," Yumi said, pretending to look for it. She slipped the phone under the couch. After a few minutes and sighed. "Why don't I call it? Your phone's not on silent, is it?"

"It shouldn't be," Naruto said.

"Alright," Yumi said. She pulled out her own phone and dialed Naruto's number. Both heard the ringing and Yumi moved towards the couch. She bent down and grabbed the phone, ending her call. "I wonder how it got there." Naruto shrugged as Yumi handed the phone over.

Naruto quickly dialed a number. "Hey Shukaku? Can you come pick me up? Yeah Sakura had to leave early this morning. Yes… I'll send you the address now. Thanks." He hung up before quickly sending Shukaku a text. "Shukaku's on his way."

"If you need someone to talk to…" Yumi began.

"It's alright," Naruto said. "Besides, I think Sakura is that one that needs you, not me." Yumi nodded.


	25. Chapter 25

"You can't be serious," Shukaku said. Naruto nodded. "Damn. And you don't remember a thing?" Naruto shook his head. "I can't believe it. Are you sure you really had sex with Sakura?"

"I may not remember the actual deed," Naruto said. "But we woke up naked in bed together. And Sakura… I think I hurt her."

"You feel guilty?" Shukaku asked.

"I do," Naruto said. "But I'm willing to take responsibility."

"Wow," Shukaku said. "Still I can't believe it. I mean with Sakura of all people?"

Naruto frowned. "What's wrong with Sakura?"

"Well, I just thought she wasn't your type," Shukaku said, trying not to make Naruto mad. "Then again, you were drunk."

"Can you be serious?" Naruto asked, getting mad anyway. "This isn't a game! I slept with Sakura!" A crash was heard from outside the room. Naruto and Shukaku looked towards the door to see Sasuke standing there. A tray was on the floor. It had been carrying three glasses.

Sasuke had a strange look on his face that Naruto couldn't place, but Shukaku knew what Sasuke was feeling. Sasuke looked at the broken glass, his bangs hiding his eyes. "I'll get a maid to clean it up." He only had one thing on his mind. He had to get out of there. Turning on his heels, Sasuke almost ran to his office. He locked the door before letting out a cry of pain and falling to his knees. He wrapped his arms around his legs as he tried to calm himself down.

"That's not good," Shukaku said, standing up. "Of all the people to overhear our talk, Sasuke's the worst person."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"It's nothing," Shukaku said, sitting back down. He hoped Sasuke was ok. Part of him wanted to go after the older man, but Naruto also needed him.

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Sasuke didn't know how he managed to call upon a maid. She made sure to tell him that the glass was safely cleaned up and that Naruto and Shukaku had been served fresh lemonade. Sasuke turned down his own glass and instead pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He wasn't normally one to drink, but he really needed one right now.

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"So Naruto told you that he and Sakura had sex and Sasuke overheard you?" Kurama asked. She had gotten back from her girls day out to hear that Sasuke had locked himself in his office and that Naruto was in his room, not really wanting to talk to anyone.

"Yes," Shukaku said.

"Damnit!" Kurama cursed. "Just when they were getting closer to realizing their own feelings, this has to happen."

"Sasuke knows how he feels," Shukaku said. Kurama looked up at that. "He told me he loved him."

"And Naruto?" Kurama asked. "Did he tell you how he felt?"

Shukaku shook his head. "No. But if Sakura's pregnant, he's ready to give up any possible relationships he could have to take care of her and the baby."

"So all we can do is wait," Kurama said. Shukaku nodded. "We need a plan." Shukaku raised an eyebrow. "If she isn't, we need to make sure Naruto and Sasuke can get pass this… accident. And if she is…" She sighed, putting her head in her right hand. "I really hope she isn't."

"Me too," Shukaku said. He sat down next to Kurama and rubbed her back. "Me too."

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"What did you do?" Sek-kun asked. He had slammed the door of Yumi's house open.

"Eh?" Yumi looked confused. She was sitting on her couch, reading a book.

"Sakura came over to talk to Fu," Sek-kun said. "She said she slept with Naruto."

"Oh, that," Yumi said, taking a sip of her tea.

Yumi's reaction just made Sek-kun angrier. "She was crying!"

"So?" Yumi asked, putting her book down. "Once she realizes that this will bring her and Naruto closer, she'll be fine."

"You know as well as I do that they were too drunk to have sex," Sek-kun said. "Why would she think they had sex? They just shared a bed."

"They woke up without any clothes on," Yumi said.

"They were naked?" Sek-kun asked, blushing slightly. "How did that happen?"

"I stripped them," Yumi said.

"The hell?" Sek-kun asked. "Why did you do that?"

"To get them together," Yumi said. "Naruto is a gentleman. If he thinks he had sex with Sakura, he'll take responsibility."

"But they didn't sleep together!" Sek-kun said. "We have to tell them."

"We can't," Yumi said. "Even if they think it was just one of our pranks, there is no way they'll forgive us."

"Us?" Sek-kun asked.

Yumi smirked. "Yes, us. You helped me put them in that bed."

"I didn't know you were planning to make it look like they had sex," Sek-kun yelled.

"You may not have known what was going to happen, but you are just as guilty as I am."

"I can't believe you. Naruto and Sakura are our friends."

"All the more reason for us to stay quiet. It would be better for everyone if they never find out the truth. You do want them to be happy right?" Sek-kun nodded. "Then say nothing. With this, they will get together and find happiness with each other."

"You're crazy."

"I may be crazy, but I'm not wrong."

Sek-kun just stared at Yumi, not sure what else to say. It was clear that Yumi wasn't normal. She had changed too quickly over the last few days. In fact, ever since Fu's birthday, there was something off about Yumi. It was as if the person before him wasn't really Yumi.

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Unknown to Yumi and Sek-kun, Fu stood outside Yumi's house. She had heard everything. Fu didn't agree with Yumi and she wasn't going to let Yumi get away with what she had done. Without letting her brother or her now ex-best-friend know, Fu left. She drove quickly to Sakura's house. Upon arriving there, she was told that Sakura had left earlier to meet up with Naruto. Sakura's mother told her that they were meeting at the ramen shop that was just down the street from Naruto's high school. Fu made sure to drive just over the speed limit so that she wouldn't get pulled over, but so that was would get to Ichiraku's as fast as possible.

Naruto and Sakura sat at a table that wasn't too out in the open. Neither said anything since they didn't know how to start the conversation that was needed. Just as Sakura opened her mouth to begin, Fu came running towards their table. "You didn't have sex!" Fu yelled.

"Fu!" Sakura yelled back. She was very red. Fu realized where exactly she was and took a seat between Naruto and Sakura.

"Look, after what you told Sek-kun and I, we went over to Yumi's," Fu said. "Well, I followed Sek-kun to Yumi's since it seemed like he was hiding something. I knew that he helped bring you two to the guest room, but I didn't know they put you in the same bed."

"What?" Sakura asked.

Fu held up a hand. "Before you start yelling, let me tell you what I know." Fu began to retell what she had overheard between Yumi and Sek-kun. Anger was clear on both Naruto and Sakura's faces. Sakura was no longer blushing from the fact that her feelings for Naruto had been admitted by Fu instead of herself. Instead, she was livid that Yumi would do this to her. She didn't blame Sek-kun since from what Fu said, he didn't know what Yumi had planned.

"We need to talk to her," Naruto said. It was clear that he was the less angry between the three of them. He could understand that Yumi wanted to help Sakura out, but this was certainly not the way to go about it.

"I don't want to talk to her," Sakura said. "I think if I did go to see her, I'd beat the shit out of her." Fu and Naruto looked at Sakura in surprise. She wasn't usually one to curse. Neither could hold that against her though.

Naruto nodded. "Alright. When you're ready, we'll confront her together."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you Fu, for telling us."

"Yeah, thanks Fu," Naruto grinned.

Fu looked away in embarrassment. "That's what real friends are for."


	26. Chapter 26

Naruto was ready to tell Shukaku, Kurama, and even Sasuke the truth about what Yumi did. But then Sai showed up to report about the “Not-an-accident” that killed Itachi and his unborn child. He wasn’t alone. A police officer that was introduced as Special Lieutenant Yamato was behind him. They sat Sasuke and Kurama down to “talk.” It was Kurama that suggested that both Naruto and Shukaku should be let in on whatever Yamato had to say. It turned out that the suspect had admitted his guilt to the police. Everyone was happy to hear that, but it was obvious that Yamato had more to say.

“He told us that he’d admit that he was guilty of tampering with Sai’s brakes, only if we agreed to a plea deal,” Yamato explained. Confusion took over Sasuke and Kurama’s faces. Shukaku looked like he understood what Yamato was saying while Naruto was a bit lost. “Now, usually it makes no sense for someone to ask us to bargain with them. So we asked him why. He told us that if we could lower his sentence to five years instead of twenty that he’d give us the name of the person that hired him to do it.”

“Someone ordered him?” Kurama asked.

Yamato nodded. “Instead of taking his plea deal we tried to find out if Sai had any enemies that wanted him dead. As a wedding planner, he actually doesn’t have any. Sure there are some people that hate Sai because he ordered an extra flower for a bouquet or the color of the chairs were jet black instead of onyx.” At this, Yamato rolled his eyes. “There was no one that fit the description of someone that wanted Sai dead. That leads to why I’m here. Normally, we’d just take the plea deal and see if what he says had any truth to it. If it doesn’t, he end up with twenty-five years instead. But since I know what you have been through, and I’m a friend of Kakashi’s, I thought I’d ask for your thoughts.”

“You want to know if we just want you to ignore the plea deal and send him to jail for twenty years and be down with it,” Kurama said. Yamato nodded. She sighed. Itachi popped in her head. She pictured him holding their unborn child with a smile on his face. Then she remembered the “Not-an-accident” that took them away. She wanted those responsible to go to jail. If there was even a chance that someone else was behind it, she wanted it to be known. “Take the deal.”

Sasuke on the other hand wasn’t sure what he wanted. He believed that anyone involved should be in prison for as long as possible. “If it turned out he is telling the truth, he’ll only be sentenced to five years?”

“Yes,” Yamato said.

Sasuke growled. “Screw that! He killed Itachi! He deserves at least twenty years if not the death penalty.”

“If there is someone else,” Sai asked. “How long would they be facing?”

“It would count as premeditated,” Yamato said. “Even though the intended victim survived, two people were lost. The guy would be charged with attempted murder and two counts of manslaughter. That means he’d be looking at the maximum of thirty-one years, a minimum of twenty. They’d also be fined, though I know you don’t really care about that.”

“I agree with Kurama,” Sai said after a few minutes. “Even if the man who tampered with my brakes only gets five years, I’ll be happy with the real culprit being behind bars for those twenty plus years.”

Sasuke slammed his fist against the table. “It’s not enough. All of them deserve to die!”

“I’m afraid that isn’t an option,” Yamato said. Sasuke glared. “With just Kurama and Sai’s permission, I feel fine taking the plea. But Sasuke, I really need a final answer from you.”

Sasuke looked at Sai and Kurama. Then his gaze moved to Shukaku and Naruto. Naruto looked back at Sasuke as he wanted to go to him and comfort him. Sasuke sighed. “Take it.” He sat back. “Take the fucking deal. But if that son of a bitch is lying, I want him skinned alive and fed to the dogs. He needs to know what happens when he messes with the Uchihas.” Sasuke stood up and walked out of the room. A few seconds later, the sound of a door slamming echoed through the air. It was clear that Sasuke was pissed.

“I’ll be going then,” Yamato said, standing. “I’ll inform you of any changes in the case.” With a nod, he left.

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A few days later, Naruto knew it was time to tell Kurama and Shukaku about Yumi. He decided against informing Sasuke about it since the man was still locked in his room. Sasuke ate in his office while only focusing on work. Shikamaru and Neji had come by several times over the few days to try and get Sasuke to leave the house and return to the main office. Kurama even tried to convince Sasuke that he needed air. Only Kohaku managed to get Sasuke out of his office when he cried out after one of his nightmares. Sasuke had bolted to the room only to find Kohaku safely in Naruto’s arms as he tried to lull the boy back to sleep. Sasuke was glad that Kohaku had Naruto.

Kohaku meant everything to Sasuke and it was Kohaku that made Sasuke realize that is someone else was behind Itachi’s death, then that meant the all Uchihas might be targets. He wouldn’t allow Kohaku to be harmed due to his mistakes. He doubled the amount of bodyguards around Kohaku. Kohaku and Matatabi didn’t know what was going on, and the adults were thankful for that.

“What is it you wanted to talk to us about, Naruto?” Kurama asked. The three of them were in theater room since it was sound proof. “Is it about Sasuke?”

Naruto shook his head. “No, it is about Sakura.” He tried to get comfortable. “You see, at Yumi’s party we…”

Kurama held up a hand. “I know. Shukaku told me about it.”

Naruto glanced at Shukaku before looking down. “Oh.” He took a deep breath before looking up. “It turns out that we didn’t do it. Yumi just made it seem like we did.”

“That is one sick prank,” Shukaku said.

“It wasn’t a prank,” Naruto said. “She wanted us to think we had sex so that we’d get closer. Sakura likes me, like more than a friend. Yumi believes that this was going to make me reciprocate Sakura’s feelings.” He rubbed his fingers against each other. “I understand that Yumi did it because Sakura is her friend and she just wanted her to be happy. But…”

“It messes with your feelings,” Shukaku said. “So what if you don’t love Sakura? That doesn’t mean she won’t find true love with someone else.”

“That bitch is crazy,” Kurama finally said. “She’s not only messing with your friendship with Sakura, but she put your lovelife in jeopardy!” 

“My lovelife?” Naruto asked.

Kurama stood up. “I think she needs a good talking to! Woman to woman!” Without another word, Kurama rushed out of the room. Curious as to what she was gonna do, Shukaku and Naruto went after her. By the time they caught up to her, Kurama had her keys and was heading towards her card. She never liked being driven by someone else so she had bought her own car. She had her license for years after all. Naruto and Shukaku were just about to stop here when a voice stopped them instead.

“Naru,” Kohaku called. Naruto turned to see him wiping at one of his eyes while tears flowed from the other. He had been taking a nap since he’d been up late the night before.

Naruto sighed before turning to Shukaku. He could see the Kurama was already in her car. “Go! Make sure she doesn’t do anything she’d regret later.” Although he knew Kurama would regret anything, Shukaku nodded and got right into the passenger seat. Kurama didn’t say anything as she began to drive. Shukaku quickly put on hi seatbelt as Kurama ignored the speed limit sign at the end of their road.

Naruto picked Kohaku up and took him to the bathroom. They cleaned up, after taking a bath that ended in a bubble war. After they were dressed, they left the bathroom only to nearly run into Matatabi. She had a sad look on her face. Naruto knew that Matatabi was feeling left out. Because she was a year older than Kohaku, she was in a different group at their daycare. Lately, Shukaku had been busy looking into getting a job and signing up for night classes. Wanting to put a smile on her face, Naruto came up with an idea that would allow the three of them to have some fun while they waited for Shukaku and Kurama to return. He took ahold of one of each of their hands and brought them into the game room. He called upon a maid and asked her to bring any boxes she could find. When she asked why, Naruto smiled. “We are going to build a fort!”

The maid quickly left only to come back less than ten minutes later with not only some boxes but some sheets, tape, paint, and some random things her and the other maids could find. The six maids left Naruto, Kohaku, and Matatabi to it. Naruto showed them how to put the boxes together. He recognized them as the leftover boxes Kurama had used to move in. After putting together six boxes, Naruto taped three of them together before doing the same to another three. “Alright. Get on the couch and hold the end of a sheet . Stretch it out as far as you can.” He handed one corner of the sheet to Kohaku and another to Matatabi. Both of them go onto the couch and carefully stood as far apart as they could. Naruto took the opposite end and laid it down on the floor. Then he quickly taped each corner to a stack of boxes. Making sure they wouldn’t tip over, he walked over to the couch. He took Kohaku’s corner. “Can you come over here and hold it against the couch?” Kohaku nodded. He jumped off of the couch, ducking under the sheet and stood in front of Naruto. He had to stand on his tippy toes to hold the sheet, but Naruto was able to quickly tape it. He did the same to Matatabi’s end. The three of them stood back and admired their work.

“Alright,” Naruto said. “We have the roof. Now we need the walls. But what can we use?” Naruto pretended that he had no idea what to use so that Matatabi and Kohaku had a change to come up with it.

Kohaku grabbed a towel. “We can use these.”

“That’s prefect!” Naruto exclaimed. “Those can be draped over the end with the boxes.”

“This?” Matatabi asked. She held up a roll of toilet paper.

Naruto nodded. “If we can cut strips to similar lengths, we can tape each end to the roof to create a wall.”

“Ok!” Matatabi smiled. 

Naruto took a roll of toilet paper and measure how long each piece need to be. “Why don’t you make several strips just like that, Matatabi?” She nodded, happily beginning her job. Naruto turned to Kohaku. “Help me with the towels?”

“Yes!” Kohaku exclaimed. Together, they quickly taped the towles over the side where the boxes stood. Kohaku then joined Matatabi to make more strips. Naruto taped each one up. “Naru! Door!”

“Oh, you’re right!” Naruto said. “We need a door.” He estimated how much space Sasuke would need to enter the fort and left a few extra inches so he couldn’t accidentally hit the sides. It took them another twenty minutes for the fort to have all four walls, the fourth being the couch, and a door. Naruto had cut a box that they could use as the way to get into the fort. One end was left open while he pieced together two slabs to make a door. They would have to crawl to get inside, but that was part of the fun. Overall, for something that took them less than an hour to make, it looked pretty good. Matatabi and Kohaku made their way inside as started to play house. Naruto sat back and kept watch over everything to make sure that the fort didn’t suddenly collapse on top of Matatabi and Kohaku.

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The ride to Yumi’s only took fifteen minutes, for one that normally took a half hour. Kurama had been speeding the entire time. Shukaku was surprised that they hadn’t been pulled over. Yumi live in a small house on the opposite side of Konoha. It was situated at the end of a very long road in which only two houses sat. One was Yumi’s while the other was vacant. Yumi’s was the furthest away from the Uchiha Mansion. It was two floors with a pool in the back. The pool was sealed off since it was still too early to use.

Kurama stopped the car a few feet away from the house. She quickly got out of it, locked it behind her, and started towards the house. “Wait!” Shukaku called after her. “What are you going to do? Just barge right in?”

“If I have to,” Kurama said.

Shukaku sighed. There was no stopping Kurama. He pulled out his phone and dialed Sasuke’s number before pocketing it. He could feel it vibrate as it waited for Sasuke to pick up. Kurama pressed the doorbell just as Sasuke picked up the call. Shukaku had to think of how to keep Sasuke on so he wouldn’t hang up thinking he was buttdialed. “Naruto probably loves Sasuke.”

Although it was random, Kurama didn’t seem to notice or care. “Yeah, and this bitch is interfering with that!” She pressed the doorbell one more time. “Dammit!” She began to pound on the door. “Open up!”

“She may not be here,” Shukaku said. “I mean would you stay home after tricking one of your friends into thinking she slept with her crush?”

“Only if I felt confident that I wouldn’t be found out,” Kurama said. She grinned evilly. “And she seems to be just that.”

“Hello?” Yumi called, from behind her door.

“Yumi?” Shukaku asked. “It’s Shukaku, Naruto’s friend. I’m here with Kurama, one of our guardians. We’d like to talk to you about Naruto and Sakura.” He knew that this was the only way that Yumi would welcome them in. If she didn’t, Kurama would most likely break the door down.

“Alright,” Yumi said. She slowly opened the door. “Come on in.” Just as she was about to move aside to allow them into her house, Kurama punched her in the face.

“You bitch!” Kurama yelled. “How dare you lie to Naruto!”

“Yeah!” Shukaku said. His fingers brushed against his phone, feeling the heat from it and knowing that Sasuke was still on the other end. “You made it seem like Sakura and Naruto slept together but they didn’t!”

Blood ran down from Yumi’s broken nose. She glared at Kurama as a hand held her bleeding nose. “I don’t know who that hell you are, but you can’t just barge into my house and punch me in the face!”

“I didn’t barge in,” Kurama said with a sickly sweet voice. “You welcomed me in.” She leaned forward, over Yumi. “Now, you better have a good excuse for why you did what you did.”

“Or else what?” Yumi asked. Kurama grinned evilly, causing Yumi’s eyes to widened. If she had been standing, Yumi would have ran for it. Her eyes moved towards the stairs.

“Don’t even think about it,” Kurama said. She straightened and crossed her arms. “There is no way I’d let you run away.”

Yumi gulped. “I did it for Sakura.” Kurama just raised an eyebrow at that. “She’s in love with Naruto. He’s such a good guy that if he believed that he took Sakura’s virginity, he’d feel responsible for her.”

“Did you think that Naruto would eventually fall for Sakura?” Shukaku asked.

“Yes,” Yumi admitted.

“You can’t control people that way,” Shukaku said. He tapped his phone to end the call with Sasuke. He felt a bit bad for Yumi. She was trying to help her friend, but she went about it that wrong way. Her decision ruined her friendships instead of strengthening Naruto and Sakura’s.

“They could still get together,” Yumi said. “Sakura should have used it to really sleep with him. Who knows, maybe then she’d get pregnant and be able to keep him that way.”

“You psychotic bitch!” Kurama yelled. Letting her anger get the best of her, she tackled Yumi to the floor. Straddling her, she began to smack her repeatedly. Shukaku had to pull Kurama off of her, before she killed her. “Let go! She should pay for what she did!”

“She’s suffered enough,” Shukaku said. “She lost her friendship with Sakura, Fu, and Naruto as well as a possible love life with Sek-kun. Besides, if you kill her, you’d be the one in trouble.”

Kurama barely calmed at that. She knew Shukaku was right, but she was just so angry. Part of her knew that it had to do with learning that Itachi and her unborn child’s deaths may have been part of a plot to kill Sai. She was taking her anger of that and mixing it with her anger at Yumi. She sigh and started heading for the door. Stopping just before it, Kurama turned back to face Yumi. “If you ever come near Naruto again, I’ll have you buried six feet under.” Without another word, she stomped back to her car.

Shukaku let out a sigh of relief. He really didn’t want Kurama to go to jail for killing Yumi. He wondered if she’d still call the police and have her arrested for attempted murder. In all honesty, Yumi didn’t look too bad. She had a broken nose and would definitely have bruises on her face from the slaps. “You know, I understand why you did it. But instead of helping Sakura, you just hurt her. She may love Naruto, but he doesn’t love her. Her heart is now broken because she lost not only Naruto, but a good friend. If you had let things be, Sakura still would have gotten her heart broken, but she would have been able to move on more easily because she had you to lean on.”

“She still has Fu,” Yumi said with a sneer.

“You’re right,” Shukaku said. “And Naruto has us.” He turned his back on the girl and walked out of the house. He just knew that Yumi’s pride wouldn’t allow her to call the police on them. Instead, she’d just take the punishment she’d been dealt and move on.

“Let’s go home,” Kurama said. “I think we should tell Sasuke about this.”

“He already knows,” Shukaku said. Kurama looked at him. He pulled out his phone, showing his recent call list. “I called him after you got out of the car.”

Kurama took his head in her hands. “You are one of the smartest people I’ve ever met.” Then she kissed him. Shukaku’s eyes widened before he kissed her back.

When the kiss ended, Shukaku looked into Kurama’s eyes. “What about Itachi?”

Kurama smiled. “Itachi would want me to be happy.” Shukaku took a second to think about that before he leaned forward and kissed Kurama again.


	27. Chapter 27

Sasuke saw the call from Shukaku and hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk to him. Then again, he had to be calling for a reason. He hit the answer button. “Hello?” There was no response. Thinking Shukaku didn’t hear him, he tried again. “Hello? Shukaku?” Still nothing. He waited a few more seconds when he came to the conclusion that he’d been butt dialed. Moving a finger to end the call, a voice finally came from Shukaku’s end.

“Naruto probably loves Sasuke,” Shukaku said. Sasuke froze. He hadn’t expected to hear that.

“Yeah, and this bitch is interfering with that!” It was Kurama’s voice. It sounded distant. The sound of a doorbell ringing could be heard faintly in the background. “Dammit!” Sasuke could tell that Kurama was now pounding on the door. “Open up!” 

Sasuke was about to hang up when he heard what Shukaku said next. “She may not be here. I mean would you stay home after tricking one of your friends into thinking she slept with her crush?” The words hit Sasuke like a bucket of ice. He forced himself to listen to the rest. It became clear that Shukaku and Kurama had gone to confront one of Sakura’s friends about her sleeping with Naruto. But from what Shukaku said, Sakura and Naruto had been tricked into believing that they had sex when they hadn’t. He followed the rest of the conversation picking up on small sounds that hinted to what was going on that Sasuke couldn’t see. It was obvious that Kurama had hit someone. He heard whoever Kurama had hit and realized just who it was, Yumi. There was some more yelling before the voices lowered. The last thing Sasuke heard was Shukaku saying that you can’t control people that way before the boy hung up.

‘He knew,’ Sasuke thought. ‘He called me on purpose.’ The question was why. Shukaku clearly wanted Sasuke to hear something. Then it hit him. Naruto hadn’t slept with Sakura. Sasuke got to his feet. He needed to talk to Naruto. Grabbing his phone and his bag, he left his office, ignoring his employees and leaving the building.

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Just as Naruto was beginning to get comfortable, he heard the door of the game room open. He turned to see Sasuke walk into the room. He smiled. “We built a fort.”

“It looks nice,” Sasuke said.

“Daddy!” Kohaku cheered after hearing Sasuke’s voice. He and Matatabi crawled out of the fort. “Look what we build? Naru helped!”

Sasuke smiled and reached down to pat Kohaku on the head. “It looks amazing,” he praised. “You did a good job.”

Kohaku smiled. “Naru is the best.”

“He truly is,” Sasuke said. “I actually need to talk to Naruto. Are you two going to be ok alone?”

“Yes!” Kohaku said. “We play House!” Matatabi nodded. She was always shy around Sasuke.

“Good,” Sasuke said. He grabbed Naruto’s hand and began pulling hm towards the door. “Have fun.” He closed the door behind him and pulled Naruto towards the stairs.

“Sasuke-sama,” Naruto said. “I can walk on my own.”

“Right,” Sasuke said, releasing Naruto’s hand. “Let’s go.” He continued forward. Naruto was afraid of whatever Sasuke had to say. It was unusual for Sasuke to talk to Naruto alone. He wondered if Sasuke was going to kick him out of the house or worse, send him back to Sound. They entered Sasuke’s office. Sasuke took a seat at his desk. “Have a seat.”

Naruto sat down, swallowing hard. “If… if this is about the fort, I…”

Sasuke held up a hand. “It has nothing to do with the fort. I do however have something I want to ask you.” Naruto nodded, waiting for the question of doom to escape Sasuke’s mouth. “How long have you known that you and Sasuke didn’t sleep together?” That hadn’t been the question Naruto thought was coming.

“Eh?” Naruto asked, surprised.

“Shukaku called me while he and Kurama went to see Yumi,” Sasuke said. Naruto flinched. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to push this on you plate when it is already so full,” Naruto said. “I know that you are busy with work and Itachi’s…”

Sasuke slammed a fist against his desk. “That doesn’t matter!” He stood up. “We are family Naruto! Of course I’d want to know about this!” Naruto’s eyes widened at that. Sasuke saw Naruto’s expression and sighed. He sat back down. “I want you to clear things up for me. Is it true that Yumi tricked you and Sakura?”

“It’s true,” Naruto said. “Fu overheard Sek-kun talking to Yumi when he went to confront her about how Sakura came to them crying. She instantly came to tell us what she heard. It was that day that Sakura and I met up at the cafe a few blocks away from Kakashi’s office.”

“And Kakashi?” Sasuke asked. “Does he know?”

Naruto shook his head. “No. I only told Shukaku and Kurama today about it. I was going to tell all three of you, but then Lieutenant Yamato came.”

“I see.” Sasuke sighed. “Naruto, do you trust me?”

“With my life.”

“I’m glad. But I have to wonder why you didn’t just tell me, tell us sooner.”

“What would you have done? Would you have gone with Kurama and Shukaku? Would you kill Yumi? Not everything can be solved with violence.”

“I know. There isn’t really anything I could have done unless I wanted to hurt Yumi in some way. But still, I want to know these things. As I said, we are family, Naruto. I want you to be able to tell me anything. You must know that I will always be here for you.”

Naruto swallowed. He knew what an confession was when he heard one. He just hoped Sasuke meant it. Naruto brought a hand to his mouth as his eyes widened as he realized why he felt this way. He felt stupid for not seeing it sooner. Shukaku and Kurama had hinted at it several times. Hell, even Kakashi saw it. Whenever he told Kakashi about something that had happened in his past, he’d tell Naruto that he should talk to Sasuke about it. Sakura probably saw it too. That explained why she seemed to hate Sasuke so much.

He wasn’t sure how to ask Sasuke if what he meant was what he thought he meant. And if he did, what then? How did Naruto feel? He knew he cared for Sasuke. He also knew that it was different than how he felt about Shukaku, Kurama, and even Kohaku. However, he was never able to explain it let alone give it a name. His mind went to Temari and how that relationship went. It had failed because he didn’t feel that way about Temari. To him, Temari was just a friend like Gaara. But Sasuke, he was more. He was always more.

“Naruto?” Sasuke asked, interrupting Naruto’s thoughts. “Look, I just wanted to let you know that I care. I’m not as cold hearted as some would say.”

“Sasuke?” Naruto asked.

“Yes?”

The words froze on the tip of his tongue. Naruto sighed before standing up. He’d always been told that he was not a man of words but a man of action. He walked over to Sasuke’s side of the desk, grabbed Sasuke’s tie, and kissed him. Sasuke let out a surprised gasp as Naruto moved his lips against his. Realizing what Naruto was doing, Sasuke’s arms wrapped around the blond and pulled him closer and he deepened the kiss.

‘This is right,’ Naruto thought. When air became a necessity, they pulled away from each other. “Sasuke.”

“I know.” Sasuke leaned forwards and kissed Naruto again. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to stand much longer, Naruto climbed onto Sasuke’s lap. His arms moved around Sasuke’s neck and he moved as close as he could to the older man. He had never felt this way before, but something was telling him that this was right. He decided to go with the flow, relinquishing control to Sasuke. They pulled back again and stared into each other’s eyes.

Naruto suddenly blushed, looking away. “W-we should probably go check on Kohaku and Matatabi.” Sasuke nodded. Neither made an attempt to move. Naruto looked around before his eyes fell back upon Sasuke’s. “Um… Sasuke?”

“Hn?”

“What… what does this mean?”

“It means we love each other, Dobe.”

“Teme!” Naruto put a hand to his mouth.

Sasuke smiled. “Don’t be afraid to speak your mind. It is only right since we are equals in this relationship.”

“Relationship?”

Sasuke frowned. “I’d hoped you’d understand what I want. Naruto, I want us to be together.”

“Like boyfriend and… boyfriend?”

Sasuke nodded. “Yes, like boyfriends. If you don’t like that title, you can call us lovers or anything else. I just want you to be mine.”

“If I am yours, does that make you mine?”

Sasuke smirked. “Of course.”

Naruto nodded. “Ok.” He leaned down and pecked Sasuke on the cheek. He knew better than to kiss the raven’s lips for they’d be stuck here for far longer than they should. “We really should go check on Kohaku and Matatabi.” Sasuke nodded. He left his arms fall away from Naruto’s waist. Naruto stood up, patting down his clothes. He didn’t know how they had gotten messed up. Sasuke also stood up and straightened his clothes. The two left Sasuke’s office and headed down the stairs, hand in hand. Just as they reached the bottom step, the front door opened. Shukaku and Kurama walked into the house, also holding hands. The two newly formed couples smiled at each other.

“Since when?” Naruto asked.

“Since now,” Shukaku said. “You?”

“The same,” Naruto said.

Sasuke and Kurama looked at each other before Kurama grinned and Sasuke smirked. Kurama turned towards Shukaku while Sasuke pulled Naruto towards him. The two leaned down and kissed their lovers. A cheer echoed through the hall as Kurama and Sasuke pulled back. Four pairs of eyes turned to see Kohaku and Matatabi staring at them.

“See?” Kohaku said. “I told you!”

Matatabi looked at Kurama than at Shukaku. “Shu-nii?”

“Y-yes?” Shukaku stuttered.

“You happy?” Matatabi asked.

Shukaku smiled. “Yes.”

Matatabi nodded. “Ok.” She then stepped forward and hugged Kurama’s leg. Kurama chuckled before lifting Matatabi up. She held the girl in her arms as Shukaku wrapped an arm around them. The three turned and headed right for the kitchen since it was dinner time.

“Naru?” Kohaku asked.

“Yes, Kohaku?” Naruto asked back.

“Does this mean you’re my mommy?” Kohaku asked. Sasuke couldn’t help but laugh as Naruto blushed. Not knowing what to say, Naruto just nodded. “Yay!” He grabbed Naruto’s hand and started pulling him towards the kitchen. “You can come to school with me tomorrow and we can have pancakes and… and we can play together always!” Naruto looked back at Sasuke and smiled.

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Later that night, Naruto sat in Sasuke’s bedroom. Sasuke had gone out after they ate. When he came back, he’d ask Naruto to wait in his room while he took a shower. Naruto looked around the room, fear in his eyes. He wasn’t afraid of what might happen next. He just didn’t know where to look. A bag was on the floor. It was what Sasuke had returned with. Out of curiosity, Naruto made his way towards the bag. When the door opened, Naruto jumped.

Sasuke walked in with a towel in his hand, using it to dry his hair. Naruto smiled and stood up. He grabbed the towel and started to help Sasuke. When Naruto was done, he stepped back to see a smirk on Sasuke’s face. “You’re always god to me.”

Naruto blushed. “It.. it’s nothing.”

“No,” Sasuke said. He grabbed Naruto’s hand and maneuvered them so that Naruto was sitting on the bed and Sasuke was standing in front of him. “Over the years, you have taken care of Kohaku and have look after this family in ways I never could.”

“You’re a good father, Sasuke-sama,” Naruto said, taking what Sasuke was saying the wrong way.

Sasuke shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. And please, just call me Sasuke. We are dating now.”

Again, Naruto blushed. “R-right.”

Sasuke turned his back on Naruto, leaned down, and picked up the bag. He then walked to his dresser and placed the bag down on it. “You know, it may seem a bit fast, but I have loved you for a long time. Probably back when I shouldn’t have.”

“Eh?” Naruto asked confused.

“I’m an old man, Naruto. I’m nearly thirty-years-old, eleven years older than you.”

“You’re not old.”

“I am. Naruto, you were only fourteen when we first met. I’m a pedofile.”

Naruto shook his head. “They say that sixteen is the first roadblook towards adulthood. I may have only been fourteen, but I grew up in Sound. In there, being fourteen was like being eighteen. And so what if I was fourteen then? I’m eighteen, nearly nineteen now. Sasuke, I’m an adult and I know what I want, have known for awhile.”

“Then it is ok for me to love you?”

“Yes.”

“Then is it alright to ask you to marry me?”

“Of course!” Naruto suddenly paused. “Wait, what?”

Sasuke smirked as he walked over to Naruto and got down on one knee. “Dobe, Naruto, I want you to marry me.”

Naruto looked into Sasuke’s eyes and saw the love in them. He sighed. “I can’t.”

“You can’t?” Sasuke looked surprised. “Is it too early? I’ll wait. I’ll…”

“It’s not that. Sasuke it’s… I’m not sure if I can say it.”

“Naruto, it’s ok. You can tell me anything.” He stood up and moved to sit next to Naruto.

“I’m not as nice as everyone makes me out to be,” Naruto began. Sasuke wanted to say something, but he knew that Naruto needed to get something off of his chest. “In all honesty, I’m selfish. I want what I want and I tend to get it. Back when I was in sound, I made two wishes. The first was to get out of there and the second was to be loved. And that’s when Kohaku came followed by you taking both of us here. I became Kohaku’s caretaker not just because I was needed but because I want to. I wanted and still want to take care of Kohaku. Eventually, I used that as an excuse to get something else I wanted, you. I wanted you to notice me, to love me. When Kurama awoke, I feared she’d take you and Kohaku away. So, I made her want me because I wanted her to. I wanted her to accept me into her family so I could remain in yours.” Naruto took a deep breath.

“Sakura showed up at the zoo just when I was wondering if maybe I shouldn’t be so selfish. But she fell in love with me, simply because I needed her to. I wanted a friend, so here she was, just not that way I expected. She made me want a better education, so school was brought up. You allowed me to go, even going as far as getting a tutor so I wouldn’t be too far behind. Sakura wasn’t enough and I asked for a male friend. I got Gaara. Having one made me want another and Shukaku came along. We may have been enemies at first, but after I made a wish to end our fights, rain allowed me to take him and Matatabi home. It made his father beat him and force them out so I could have them close to me. Because I knew that you would give me anything I asked for, I brought them here knowing you’d never turn me down.” Sasuke wanted to tell him that none of that was his fault, but he stayed silent.

“When the dreams of what happened in Sound started up again, I made yet another wish for me to confront my fears. He ended up at my school along with Kabuto, another person linked to my fears. I got my wish when they were captured by your people. I wanted them dead Sasuke. And now they are. Can’t you see? I’m not a good person.” He held up a hand to prevent Sasuke from interrupting him. “Yumi… what she did… if you noticed, I looked and acted like I didn’t care. I didn’t. It gave me the proof I desired, the proof that Shukaku and Kurama loved me. And above all, it gave me you. I once told Kakashi that the thing I wanted most was a place to call home; a place where I was wanted and loved. A love that wasn’t the normal feelings between friends, but a romance like no other. And Sasuke, that’s you. You have given me all of this.” He moved his arms as if to show off everything around him. “But I need something else. I need to ask you if you can accept this selfish part of me while said part selfishly wants you to.”

A silence came between them. Naruto wasn’t sure if Sasuke was just thinking or if Sasuke simply had nothing to say. Finally, Sasuke opened his mouth. “Humans are selfish creatures. We want far more than we give. But a truly selfish person will not admit their selfishness. You may think that wanting all of thank makes you selfish, but you are forgetting something. I wanted Kohaku back and I took you along because I knew you cared for him and could take care of him when I couldn’t. Kurama wanted you as part of her family, because she saw you for who you are. Sakura loves you because you are Naruto. Gaara and Shukaku, they are your friends not just because you act nice, but because you give them what they need just as they give you what you need. And I… I love you Naruto. If it is selfish to want to be loved, then call me selfish as well. Nobody is perfect, but that’s ok. I accept all of your faults and hope that you can accept mine. So I will ask you one more time. Naruto, will you marry me?”

 

 

**THE END**


	28. Epilogue

Naruto sat in the living room, opening gifts. It was his twenty-fourth birthday. Sasuke was now thirty-five. He was sitting next to Naruto. Kohaku, who was now ten, and Matatabi, who was eleven, sat on floor with Kohaku being closer to Naruto and Matatabi being closer to Shukaku. Shukaku and Kurama where sitting on the other couch. They had moved out just over a year after Naruto and Sasuke got married, a few months before getting married themselves. Shukaku was twenty-five and working at the Namikaze Empire as the president while Kurama was the new CEO, after her father retired. Kurama was now forty-years-old. She had a hand on her nearly seven-month pregnant stomach, her due date being a few days before Christmas. The doctors had told Kurama that she'd never be able to get pregnant, so this baby was a true miracle.

Sasuke still ran Uchiha Corp while Naruto worked at a daycare. Naruto had always been good with children so it wasn't surprising when he decided to go for a teaching degree. Although they didn't keep in touch, Sakura had sent Naruto a birthday present. She now lived in Suna with her fiance and was a nurse. Her goal was to become a doctor by the end of the year. Gaara had also moved to Suna, taking Neji with him. Neji ran the Hyuuga Company, a small sports company that had ties with both Uchiha Corp and the Namikaze Empire. Temari on the other hand, stayed behind in Konoha. She had finally gotten married to Shikamaru just a few months ago, which was late considering that they already had two kids with a third due in March. Fu worked as a manager at a small clothing store while Senshi worked on his music. Hinata and Shino got jobs as veterinarians while Nari and Kai moved to Cloud and became teachers. Sek-kun ended up becoming a chief under Choji. And Yumi… Less than a month after Naruto and Sasuke announced their wedding, Yumi and her mother moved. No one has seen nor heard from her since.

Sai was sitting in a chair between the two couches. He had managed to get a few days off to visit Naruto and Sasuke. A few months after they agreed to the plea deal, the real person behind Itachi and his child's deaths was found. It turned out that the man had a grudge not with Sai, but with Itachi. He knew he couldn't go after Itachi himself and both Kurama and Sasuke had bodyguards, so that left Sai. He hired someone to tamper with Sai's breaks in hopes that he'd die. But as luck would have it, Itachi and his child died instead. The man had bragged about in his journal which the police found when they searched his place. Normally, a search warrant wouldn't have been granted with such a lack of evidence, but the man was facing charges of assault and battery. The judge granted the warrant based on the fact that the man maybe planning worse for the woman he had harmed. Inside the journal included the plan for Sai's "accident" as well as a bank statement for the money he paid to have the tampering done. The man was arrested and tried for premeditated attempted murder along with two accounts of murder. It wasn't counted as manslaughter since it was obvious that he had meant Itachi harm. Along with all the other charges he faced, the man received the death penalty and was hanged only a month after being imprisoned. It seemed he caught on to the betrayal of his employee because while he was out on bail before his own trial, the employee was shot in the head. The search for his killer was still ongoing.

Kakashi and Iruka had mailed Naruto his gift since the two were on their anniversary vacation in Iceland. It turned out to be a blanket depicting an Aurora Borealis along with a book clearly from Kakashi. Naruto promised to burn it later while Sasuke was a bit interested in reading it. Naruto was currently using the blanket as he was handed the last gift, Kohaku's gift. It was in a box the size of a clothing box. Naruto carefully unwrapped it before asking Sasuke if he had a box cutter. Handing it to Naruto, Sasuke watched with anticipation. Pulling off the top of the box, Naruto was rewarded with a picture of him, Sasuke, and Kohaku. He couldn't help but smile at the beautiful picture. As he lifted it out of the box, something fell out of the back of the picture frame. Afraid he had broken it, Naruto leaned down only to pick up a piece of paper. Naruto opened it to discover that it was a letter written by Kohaku. He read it aloud.

"Dear Naru,

Happy Birthday is not that only thing I wanted to say today. I also wanted to let you know that I love you very much. You have been here for me for almost my entire life. The day we met was the happiest day in my life, the second being the day you married Dad. Since you made the first day my happiest and Dad made the second one, I figured it is my turn to make the third. However, in order to do this, I need to ask you a question. It will probably come as a surprise to you although it really shouldn't. I'm sure that it will cause you to either cry or smile or be at a lost for words. Who knows, maybe all three. Now I've postponed it as much as I could. Here it goes: Naruto Uchiha, will you adopt me?"

Naruto fell silent as his eyes widened. Tears instantly came to his eyes before he dropped the picture and the letter, luckily Sasuke was able to grab them, and lunged at Kohaku, lifting him into a hug. He couldn't form any words, just as Kohaku predicted so instead he just cried. It took him a few minutes before he finally stopped. He pulled back and smiled at Kohaku, informing the boy of his answer before he could even say it. But it still had to be said. "Yes," Naruto managed to say. "Yes, I'll adopt you. You have been and always will be my son."

Kohaku smiled back at the blond. "Good." He walked into the kitchen and came back with a folder. "Then all you need to do is sign here." He opened it to the page that needed Naruto's signature. Without a word, Sasuke handed Naruto a pen. Naruto signed and Kohaku closed the folder, skipping into the kitchen to put it away for later. He came back into the living room to see Naruto kissing Sasuke. Kohaku smiled at his family.

 

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**Thank you for reading Place to Call Home. I'm sure there are many questions you have left unanswered, but there is no more to this story. However, if you have made it this far, then you have unlocked a special scene that takes place before Naruto and Sasuke got married. Here it is:**

**.**

**.**

After Kurama and Shukaku left, Yumi stood up to reveal that she was no longer bleeding. She cursed and let out a scream as she stomped to her room. Throwing things around her room, she ended up breaking a mirror. She stood in front of the mirror. Because it was shattered, all she could see was the black around her body and her eyes. Still angry, she left her room and stomped back into the kitchen. She was about to make a mess when the blood on her hands caught her eye. Yumi ran to the sink and washed them before she remembered what Kurama had done to her face. She quickly washed away the blood that had dried there before inspecting her nose with her pocket mirror. It was a special mirror that allowed her to see what she currently looked like. She frowned at the black and blue already forming on her cheek and around her nose. Yumi headed for the bathroom and used some makeup to hide the bruises. She couldn't feel the pain, so touching it didn't bother her. After she was done with that, she moved back into the living room and began to clean up all traces of Kurama's presence. She wasn't going to allow her mom to find out what had happened. The next place she cleaned up was her bedroom. Luckily, she had the right book to help her out and everything returned to how it was before, even the mirror. She ignored it as she made her way back into the living room. Taking a seat on the couch, she opened a book, awaiting her mom's arrival.

Yumi's mother, Marine (pronounced: Ma-rin-nay) only cared for Yumi. After her boyfriend left her once he found out she was pregnant, she went to her parents and begged them to take care of her. Her parents were French and owned a small company in Paris. Her father instantly disowned her while her mother handed her a credit card. Marine was forced to live in small apartment doing odd jobs here and there as she continued her education. She didn't like having to rely on her mother's credit card. When her father found out about the credit card, he beat her mother to death. The police ended up arresting the father and sending him to Sound. Marine's uncle ended up getting ownership of the company. He took Marine in. Once Yumi was born, Marine moved back to Konoha to get away from her uncle. She had seen the look he gave her when they were alone. Marine's uncle followed her to Konoha and tried to rape her, but Yumi's cries distracted him enough for Marine to hit him with a lamp. Deciding she wasn't worth it, Marine's uncle returned to France, leaving a broken Marine to believe that Yumi was the only one she had. Marine worked at a dinner while taking care of Yumi. When Yumi was old enough to take care of herself, Marine got another job so that she could give Yumi anything she wanted.

Yumi ended up being spoiled. This changed a bit when she met Fu and Sek-kun. At first, Marine didn't like them but since Yumi did, Marine was forced to act like she did. Over time, they grew on her. However, Yumi was still the only person Marine ever cared for, even more than herself. When Yumi began to change, Marine didn't care. In her eyes Yumi was perfect no matter what she did.

Yumi looked up from her book and glanced around the room. Her eyes landed on a picture of her with Fu and Sakura. A brief look of sadness flashed through her eyes. She sighed. 'It will be ok,' she kept telling herself. Marine came home only a few minutes later.

-=0=-

Yumi pulled out some envelopes from her mailbox before heading back inside. She took a seat on her couch, the tv still playing softly in the background. She sighed as she began to separate the bills from the junk mail. Suddenly, she stopped on an envelope that was very different from the others. It was a light orange with a swirl along the top and bottom. She carefully opened it, taking out a card that was the same light orange. In dark blue elegant letters read: You've Been Invited. Yumi frowned as she began to picture what the inside of it said. After a few minutes of hesitation, she opened it. She glared at the words she read before throwing it on the floor. "Dammit!" She stood up and began to pace around the room. Sure she had failed once, but she had still believed that she had a chance. This card had just shown her that she had been wrong. She slammed a fist against a wall, not caring that she was bleeding.

"Yumi?" a voice called from the door. "Are you alright?" Yumi sighed. It was her mother. The woman walked into the room. "I heard a bang." Her eyes fell on Yumi's hand. "Oh my… Yumi, your hand."

"It's fine," Yumi said, her voice slightly darker than before.

"Yumi?" Marine asked.

"Oh will you shut up!" Yumi yelled. "All you ever do is say 'Yumi this' and 'Yumi that.' It's like all you care about is Yumi!"

"What's wrong honey?" Marine asked, taking a step forward.

"I'm not Yumi!" Yumi yelled. She walked over to her mother and pulled her to the large mirror in the room. "See?" Her mother, unsure of what Yumi was going on about, looked into the mirror. What she saw caused her to pull away from Yumi in terror.

"What?" she stumbled backwards and landed on her butt. "What is that? What's going on?"

Yumi turned towards Marine and laughed. When she stopped, she smiled. "Foolish human. Didn't you ever wonder why your daughter changed so suddenly?" She lifted a hand and pointed it at herself. "The answer is simple. I'm not your daughter."

"T-then what d-did you do with her?" Marine asked.

"Oh she's still here," Not-Yumi said. "Still inside this body, waiting for me to give it back to her."

"W-will you give it back?"

Not-Yumi smiled. "Yes. In fact, I have no reason to use it anymore as I have failed my mission. Thankfully, there are other worlds that I can mess with." She let out another laugh as Yumi's body fell forward and a strange shadow appeared behind her. Wide eyes took in the being that now stood in Yumi's place. She had short and curly black hair and pale skin. On her head were blood-red ram horns and on her back were red and black dragon wings. Her eyes were slitted, one being red, the other being black. What surprised Marine the most wasn't just the demon-like look Not-Yumi had, but the fact the girl was naked. "Ah! It feels so good to be free!" Not-Yumi moved a hand to her lips. "That body was so tight." She moved her hand down her breasts to her stomach and then back into the air. A strange darkness seemed to appear in her hands as it began to wrap around her body, covering her skin. It formed a dress that didn't do well to cover up her feminine body. When the shadows stopped moving, she stepped back. "Well, it's been fun human. Maybe I'll see you in another life." The shadows engulfed her once more before they disappeared, taking her with them.

Marine didn't move, still shocked from what happened right in front of her. Yumi groaned causing Marine to call out her name and rush to her side. She helped sit Yumi up. "Mom?" Yumi asked. "What happened?" Marine opened her mouth, ready to tell her everything, but then she decided against it. She was going to forget whatever had just happened and pretend that everything was ok. After all, she would do anything for Yumi.

"You suddenly collapsed," Marine said. She helped get Yumi to the couch. "You haven't been sleeping well lately."

"The last thing I remember is getting ready for Fu's birthday," Yumi said.

"Honey, that was months ago," Marine said, a bit concerned.

"What?" Yumi asked. "But I… I don't remember." She looked into her mother's eyes. "I don't remember anything after that!"

Marine took Yumi into her arms. "It's ok. We can get you help. Whatever you need, I'm here."

"Thank you mom," Yumi said, hugging back. A few seconds later, Yumi's stomach rumbled. Her mother pulled back, laughing.

"Let's get you something to eat," Marine said. Her eyes fell on something on the floor. She picked it up and read the card. She came to the conclusion that this was what caused Not-Yumi to fly off the handle. Deciding that it wasn't worth causing her daughter any more pain, she threw the card into the trash. Yumi, not knowing anything about the card, took a seat in the dining room, waiting for whatever her mother was making. She smiled as she watched her mother move around the kitchen. With her mother's help, Yumi was sure that she'd get her memories back. And if for some reason she didn't, she knew she'd be ok.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the card was an invitation to Naruto and Sasuke's wedding.


End file.
